Olibrus semistriatus LeConte 1856

Olibrus semistriatus LeConte, 1856

NEW BRUNSWICK: Albert Co.: Albert Mines, 9.VII.2002, C.G. Majka, old field, (2, CGMC); Caledonia Mountain, 1965-1971, C.G. Majka, old field, (1, CGMC); Crooked Creek, 22.VIII.2003, C.G. Majka, floodplain, (1, CGMC); Mary’s Point, 21.VIII.2003, 23.VIII.2003, 12.VIII.2004, C.G. Majka, seashore, (10, CGMC); Charlotte Co.: Deer Island, 9.V.1983, M.E.M. Smith, (7, ACPE); Westmorland Co.: Moncton, 15.IX.1978, A. Chenard, (1, UMNB). NEWFOUNDLAND: Stephenville, 14.VIII.1985, D. Larson, (1, MUN). NOVA SCOTIA: 171 specimens examined from Annapolis, Cape Breton, Colchester, Cumberland, Digby, Halifax, Inverness, Kings, Lunenburg, Pictou, Queens, Shelburne, Victoria, and Yarmouth counties. The earliest records are from 1945 [Halifax Co.: St. Margaret’s Bay, 9.VIII.1945, 18.VIII.1945, D.C. Ferguson, (10, NSMC); Kings Co.: Grand Pre, 12.VIII.1945, D.C. Ferguson, (1, NSMC); Greenwich, 12.VIII.1945, D.C. Ferguson, (1, NSMC)]. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Kings Co.: Launching, 26.VIII.2003, C.G. Majka, salt marsh on Solidago sempervirens L., (2, CGMC); Woodville Mills, 16.VIII.2002, C.G. Majka, shore of small pond, (4, CGMC); Prince Co.: Indian River, 4.IX.2001, C.G. Majka, coastal marsh, (6, CGMC); Lower Darnley, 25.VIII.2003, C.G. Majka, coastal dunes, (4, CGMC); Malpaque, 25.VIII.2003, C.G. Majka, coastal dunes, (1, CGMC); Summerside, 4.IX.2001, C.G. Majka, wet meadow, (6, CGMC); Queens Co.: Cavendish, 19.VII.2001, C.G. Majka, sea coast, (1, CGMC); Harrington, 19.VIII.1993, M.E.M. Smith, potato field, (1, ACPE); Millvale, 17.VIII.2002, 15.VIII.2004, 25.VI.2003, C.G. Majka, along river, (8, CGMC); New London Bay, 3.IX.2001, C.G. Majka, seashore on Solidago sempervirens L., (4, CGMC); North Rustico, 17.VIII.2002, C.G. Majka, coastal lagoon, (3, CGMC); Pinette, 24.VI.2003, C.G. Majka, seashore, (1, CGMC); Toronto, 19.VIII.2002, C.G. Majka, old field, (1, CGMC); Wood Islands, 23.VII.2001, 6.IX.2001, 20.VIII.2002, 29.VIII.2003, C.G. Majka, seashore, (8, CGMC).

Olibrus semistriatus is newly recorded in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (Figs. 1, 2). Th e species has previously been recorded from New Hampshire south to Pennsylvania and west through Ontario, Indiana, and Kansas to Manitoba, Colorado and Arizona (LeConte 1856; Gibson 1917; Campbell 1991; Downie and Arnett 1996; Chandler 2001; Goertz 2006). The larvae of Olibrus species live in the flower heads of species of Asteraceae in genera such as Ageratina, Aster, Bidens, Cirsium, Chrysopsis, Eupatorium, Solidago, and Vernonia,

and the pollen-feeding adults are often abundant on these plants (Lawrence 1991; Steiner 2002). In Nova Scotia specimens have been collected on Achillea millefolium L., Aster novi-belgii L., Solidago canadensis L., and Solidago rugosa Ait. (Asteraceae). Adults have also occasionally been found on other flowers such as Verbascum thapsus L. (Scrophulariaceae) and Rosa rugosa Thunb. (Rosaceae). In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island soecimens have frequently been collected in coastal localities where they are abundant on Solidago sempervirens L.