Baliosus nervosus
Creators: name: Eiseman, Charles S.
name: Feldman, Tracy S.
name: Palmer, Michael W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Baliosus
Baliosus nervosus

description: Baliosus nervosus (Panzer)
(Figs. 4–5, 32–35, 128–129)
Reared or barcoded specimens. IOWA: Allamakee Co., Red Oak Prairie (43°14’13.43”N, 91° 7’8.58”W), 16.vii.2015, em. 3.viii.2015, C.S. Eiseman, ex Quercus macrocarpa, # CSE 1945 (1 adult, MLBM); KANSAS: Douglas Co., Clinton State Park, 38.932033, -95.360731, 11.vii.2023, em. 27 – 30.vii.2023, C.S. Eiseman, ex Ulmus rubra, # CSE 8329 (1 adult, MLBM); MASSACHUSETTS: Berkshire Co., Lenox, Mahanna Cobble, 12.vii.2016, em. 2–5.viii.2016, C.S. Eiseman, ex Tilia americana, # CSE 2828 (6 adults, ZFMK); Stockbridge, Agawam Lake, 14.viii.2017, em. 23.viii.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Alnus incana, # CSE 4164 (1 larva, ZFMK); along Rte. 7 E of Agawam Lake, 6–14.viii.2017, extracted 4.ix.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Tilia americana, # CSE 4218 (3 adults and 2 pupae, ZFMK); Franklin Co., Northfield, 42.646683, -72.425062, 8.viii.2019, em. 12.viii.2019, C.S. Eiseman, ex Crataegus, # CSE 5793 (1 adult, MLBM); 42.647267, -72.425022, 30.vii.2022, em. 7–21.viii.2022, C.S. Eiseman, ex Prunus avium ‘Van’ [semi-dwarf], # CSE 7683 (MLBM, 3 adults); Middlesex Co., Shirley, Pumpkin Brook (42.621674, -71.652769), 1.viii.2017, em. 14.viii.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Quercus rubra, # CSE 4118 (1 adult, ZFMK); em. 22–25.viii.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Quercus alba, # CSE 4159 (3 adults, ZFMK); Shirley, 42.555080, -71.613508, 3.viii.2017, em. 9–12.viii.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Quercus bicolor, # CSE 4090 (3 adults, ZFMK); Worcester Co., Holden, 42.363936, -71.835762, 15.viii.2017, em. 21.viii.2017, C.S. Eiseman, ex Castanea dentata, # CSE 4155 (1 adult, ZFMK); NORTH CAROLINA: Scotland Co., Laurinburg, St. Andrews University, 2.vi.2015, extracted from mine 22.vii.2015, T.S. Feldman, ex Quercus nigra, # CSE 1760 (1 adult, ZFMK); 7.vi.2016, em. 1.vii.2016, T.S. Feldman, ex Alnus serrulata, # CSE 2680 (1 adult, ZFMK); 29.vi.2016, em. 25–27.vii.2016, T.S. Feldman, ex Quercus (falcata or velutina?), # CSE 2802 (2 adults, ZFMK); Wake Co., Morrisville, Lake Crabtree County Park, 11.vi.2018, em. 25.vi–4.vii.2018, T.S. Feldman, ex Amelanchier arborea, # CSE 4696 (2 adults, MLBM); 18.vi.2018, em. 6.vii.2018, T.S. Feldman, ex Quercus nigra, # CSE 4727 (3 adults, MLBM); 21.vi.2018, em. 3.vii.2018, T.S. Feldman, ex Ulmus alata, # CSE 4952 (1 adult, MLBM); OKLAHOMA: Payne Co., Mehan, 36.014339° N, - 96.996744° W, 9.vi.2017, em. 7.vii.2017, M.W. Palmer, ex Malus (crabapple), # CSE 3938 (1 adult, ZFMK); 11.vi.2017, M.W. Palmer, ex Malus?coronaria (crabapple), # CSE 3939 (1 larva, ZFMK); 14.vii.2017, em. by 17.vii.2017, M.W. Palmer, ex Quercus stellata, # CSE 3946 (1 adult, ZFMK); Stillwater, 10.vii.2015, em. 16–26.vii.2015, M.W. Palmer, ex Quercus macrocarpa, # CSE 1815 (2 adults, ZFMK); ONTARIO: Ottawa, Carleton University, 45.382853, -75.696393, 12.vii.2018, em. 27.vii.2018, C.S. Eiseman & J.A. Blyth, ex Malus (ornamental), # CSE 4864 (2 adults, MLBM).
Collected specimens. MASSACHUSETTS: Franklin Co., Northfield, 276 Old Wendell Rd., 14.viii.2016, C.S. Eiseman, ex Mespilus germanica, # CSE3079 (3 parasitized pupae, ZFMK); 42.647312, -72.424969, 8.viii.2019, extracted 17.ix.2019, C.S. Eiseman, ex Prunus salicina ‘ Shiro’ dwarf plum, # CSE5911 (1 larva, MLBM).
Photographed mines. FLORIDA: Hillsborough Co., Tampa, 28.067663, -82.404768, 13.iv.2020, A. Santos, Quercus laurifolia [with larva] (iNat 46058515); MASSACHUSETTS: Franklin Co., Northfield, 276 Old Wendell Rd. (42.646649, -72.424616), C.S. Eiseman, 17.viii.2018, Castanea mollissima [vacated] (iNat 202996790); 42.647267, -72.425022, 8.viii.2019, C.S. Eiseman, Prunus avium ‘Van’ semi-dwarf sweet cherry [with pupae] (iNat 202997373); Worcester Co., Princeton, Mt. Wachusett (42.479118, -71.885164), 3.viii.2019, C.S. Eiseman & J.A. Blyth, Malus pumila [empty/predated] (iNat 202997942); NEW YORK: Columbia Co., Copake, Sunset Rock, 7.vii.2022, C.S. Eiseman, Quercus ilicifolia [with larva] (iNat 203000068); NORTH CAROLINA: Dare Co., Poor Ridge north of Kittyhawk, 26.v.2022, T.S. Feldman, Ulmus americana (BG 2122010); Wake Co., Lake Crabtree County Park, 4.vi.2020, T.S. Feldman, Betula nigra (BG 1826933); PENNSYLVANIA: Butler Co., Slippery Rock, Jennings Environmental Education Center, 41.012989, -80.005063, 28.vii.2023, J. Emm, Quercus imbricaria (iNat 175555495); RHODE ISLAND: Washington Co., Charlestown, Francis C. Carter Memorial Preserve, 2.vii.2020, C.S. Eiseman, Quercus coccinea (iNat 51868694); ONTARIO: Huron Co., 43.800425, -81.722336, 29.viii.2023, R. Jakubowski, Tilia cordata (iNat 181907995); Ottawa, Nepean, Lone Star Ranch (45.305706, -75.808212), 12.vii.2018, C.S. Eiseman, Ulmus americana [parasitized larva] (iNat 202998209); NEW BRUNSWICK: York Co., Silverwood, 11.vii.2019, C. Adam, Ulmus (BG 1691803).
Hosts. Betulaceae: Alnus *incana (L.) Moench, A. serrulata (Aiton) Willd., Betula lenta L., B. *nigra L.; Fagaceae: Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc., C. dentata (Marshall) Borkh., C. *mollissima Blume, Quercus acutissima Carruth., Q. *alba L., Q. *bicolor Willd., Q. *coccinea Münchh., Q. falcata Michx., Q. hemisphaerica W.Bartram ex Willd., Q. *ilicifolia Wangenh., Q. *imbricaria Michx., Q. *laurifolia Michx., Q. *macrocarpa Michx., Q. nigra L., Q. *rubra L., Q. *stellata Wangenh., Q. velutina Lam.; Malvaceae: Tilia americana L., T. *cordata Mill.; Rosaceae: * Amelanchier arborea (F.Michx.) Fernald, * Crataegus L. (ser. Coccineae), C. germanica (L.) Kuntze, Malus?coronaria (L.) Mill., M. domestica (Suckow) Borkh., * Prunus avium (L.) L., P. salicina Lindl.; * Ulmaceae: Ulmus alata Michx., U. americana L., U. rubra Muhl. (Faeth et al. 1981; Auerbach & Simberloff 1988; Eiseman 2014). The record of Quercus agrifolia Née given by Staines (2006, 2015) apparently originates from a misreading of Needham et al. (1928); the range of this tree does not overlap with that of the beetle. Staines’ record of Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. is evidently based on records of unspecified “apple” which more likely refer to M. domestica (though M. sylvestris is certainly a plausible host).
Frost (1924) claimed that his host list “contains only the names of the plants on which the Larvae are known to produce mines,” but this is clearly untrue. His records of Carpinus L. (Betulaceae) and Aronia [as Pyrus] arbutifolia (L.) Pers. (Rosaceae) are attributed to Beutenmuller (1890), who wrote: “ Odontota rubra mines the leaves of apple and linden; the perfect insect may also be found on white birch, hornbeam, cherry, juneberry (Amelanchier) and Pyrus arbutifolia.” Frost’s listing of Citrus × aurantium L. (Rutaceae) and Corylus L. (Betulaceae) is based only on Chittenden’s (1902) statement: “Among other food plants are English filbert and orange, the imago having been found occasionally attacking the leaves of the last mentioned plant in Florida by the late H. G. Hubbard.” Frost also attributed his records of Amelanchier canadensis (L.) Medik. and Prunus virginiana L. (Rosaceae) to Chittenden (1902), who wrote: “Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) is also recorded as the food plant by Harris, as also the shadbush or service berry (Amelanchier canadensis).” Chittenden referred to Harris (1862), who actually wrote: “These beetles may be found on the leaves of the apple-tree, and very abundantly on those of the shad-bush (Amelanchier ovalis), and choke-berry (Pyrus arbutifolia), during the latter part of May and the beginning of June.” Frost (1924) further based larval host records for “ Baliosus ruber ” on this statement by Blatchley (1910): “Occurs on locust, oak, soft maple and linn” [=linden or basswood]. It is possible that Frost’s (1924) record of “ Chalepus nervosa ” from Cornus L. (Cornaceae) actually refers to Sumitrosis rosea (Weber), but in any case it originates from this observation from Ohio by Houser (1918): “In this instance dogwood was the favorite host, though locust and apple were well infested. Only the adults were observed.”
Clark et al. (2004) list a number of additional reported host associations for Baliosus nervosus. Their reference list is too long for tracing the source of each record to be practical, but we suspect they all refer only to adult hosts. The following could conceivably serve as larval hosts based on their relatedness to confirmed hosts: Betulaceae: Betula alleghaniensis Britton, Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch; Fagaceae: Quercus gambelii Nutt., Q. gravesii Sudw., Q. palustris Münchh.; Ulmaceae: Ulmus crassifolia Nutt. The following plants listed by Clark et al. (2004) seem unlikely to serve as larval hosts: Asteraceae: Ageratina altissima (L.) R.M. King & H. Rob. (no feeding observed); Fabaceae: Cercis canadensis L.; Myricaceae: Myrica cerifera L. [“wax myrtle”]; Rosaceae: Rubus L. [“blackberry”]; Salicaceae: Salix L.; Sapindaceae: Acer rubrum L., A. saccharinum L.; “laurel” [interpreted as Ericaceae: Kalmia L., but may indicate Lauraceae or perhaps laurel oak, Quercus laurifolia, which is here confirmed as a larval host]. As suggested by Clark et al. (2004), other records from Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Urticaceae likely refer to misidentified Sumitrosis spp.; we suspect this is also the case for Frost’s (1924) record of Solanum dulcamara L. (Solanaceae).
Biology. The mines of Baliosus nervosus (Figs. 32–35) have been described by West & Lothian (1948) and Eiseman (2014). West & Lothian (1948) stated that eggs are laid singly or in groups of 2–6 in a pit chewed in the upper leaf surface by the female, usually at least partly covered with a blackish coating of excrement. The mines on Betula, Castanea, and Quercus examined by Eiseman (2014) began with a ragged hole through the leaf without any evident egg remains. Most of the mines we have now examined have had the eggs as described by West & Lothian (1948), at the edge of the ragged hole described by Eiseman (2014) (Figs. 4–5). The excrement covering, when present, tends to be in the form of discrete particles, in contrast with the smooth, liquid coating typical of some Microrhopala and Odontota species.
Parasitoids. Conura albifrons (Walsh) (Chalcididae) was reared from one of the mines on Crataegus germanica (CSE2899, UFES). Another specimen, tentatively identified as C. albifrons but with some differences noted, was reared from a pupa in a mine on Prunus avium at the same collection site (CSE5832, UFES). A third specimen, reared from another pupa from P. avium, at least superficially resembles C. odontotae Howard but has not been examined by a specialist (CSE7740, CNC / iNat 203026318).
Eulophidae species recorded from Baliosus nervosus include Closterocerus cinctipennis Ashmead and C. trifasciatus (Westwood), both reared from eggs, as well as Pnigalio uroplatae (Howard) (Yoshimoto 1983; Hansson 1994). In their study of B. nervosus, West & Lothian (1948) reported that “[t]wo egg parasites were identified as Closterocerus bifasciatus Ashmead, and specimens of the Eulophid tribe Omphalini.” They credited Drs. Peck and Walley with identifying their parasites and predators. Closterocerus bifasciatus Ashmead has never been a valid name; Peck (1963) tentatively attributed this record to C. utahensis Crawford, but based on Hansson (1994) the specimens were probably actually C. trifasciatus. Eiseman (2014) reared an undetermined entedonine from a larva mining a Castanea dentata leaf; this has now been identified as Chrysocharis occidentalis (Girault) (CSE738, BMNH). We also reared Horismenus fraternus (Fitch) from a leaf mine on Crataegus germanica (CSE2974, BMNH).
Scambus hispae (Harris) (Ichneumonidae) was described from specimens reared from pupae of Baliosus nervosus and Odontota dorsalis (Thunberg)(Harris 1835).We reared S. hispae from B. nervosus on Ulmus americana (CSE4851, CNC) and Crataegus germanica (CSE5831, CNC), and in both cases the host larva was killed prior to pupation. In the latter case the mine was partially opened at the time of collection and a large ectoparasitoid larva was noted; the adult wasp emerged 12 days later.
Notes. Baliosus nervosus has been given the common name “basswood leafminer,” but our records show that it mines leaves of a variety of trees and shrubs in the orders Fagales (Betulaceae, Fagaceae) and Rosales (Rosaceae, Ulmaceae) in addition to basswood (Malvales: Malvaceae: Tilia americana). In fact, its first documented larval hosts were apple and white oak (Harris 1835, as Hispa rosea); Chambers (1872) appears to have been the first to report this beetle (as Hispa quadrata) mining leaves of Tilia americana. Harris (1835) also reported finding “a leaf of the poplar-tree which contained a small dead larva, very closely resembling the Hispa of the apple-tree” in June 1827, but we have seen no further evidence of hispine leaf mines on Populus L. (Malpighiales: Salicaceae).
Our DNA barcoding data suggest that a cryptic species exists within Baliosus nervosus. Four Massachusetts specimens reared from Tilia (all CSE2828; Fig. 129) are separated by>10% from all of our other barcoded B. nervosus material (from Alnus (Fig. 128), Castanea, Malus, Quercus, and Tilia). The outlying specimens belong to BIN BOLD:AAH0179, which also includes several specimens from Ontario. Our remaining specimens are all separated from one another by <1% and belong to BIN BOLD:ADF5846. The barcodes do not align with differences in host plant as might be expected, although it is conceivable that one species is a Tilia specialist and the other is polyphagous, feeding on Tilia as well as various Fagales and Rosales.
description: Published as part of Eiseman, Charles S., Feldman, Tracy S. & Palmer, Michael W., 2024, New larval host records, parasitoid records, and DNA barcoding data for North American leaf-mining leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea), pp. 1-60 in Zootaxa 5549 (1) on pages 11-13, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5549.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14387856