Flower-Inhabiting Sap Beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Carpophilinae) in Guatemala

Abstract We report three species of Nitops Murray (Nitidulidae: Carpophilinae) sampled from fallen and freshly withered flowers of the columnar cactus Stenocereus pruinosus (Otto) Buxb. (Cactaceae) in a subtropical dry forest in Guatemala. Our observations suggest that adults of these species oviposit inside the flowers during or prior to the blooming period, and the larvae feed on floral tissues. Larval feeding likely occurs without damaging floral ovaries due to flower abscission.

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