Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (Oct 2016)
First report of two species of scarab beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae) inside nests of Azteca cf. chartifex Forel (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Brazilian Amazonian Rainforest
Abstract
We report for the first time the occurrence of two species of scarab beetles, Phileurus carinatus declivis Prell, 1914 (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) and Cyclidius elongatus (Olivier, 1789) (Cetoniinae: Cremastocheilini) inside nests of Azteca cf. chartifex Forel, 1896, a neotropical arboreal ant species. This report indicates that these two beetle species are associated, at least as inquilines, to this ant species, although the nature of this relationship remains unclear. Keywords: Central Amazonia, Flower chafer, Myrmecophily, Rhinoceros beetle