Analysis of host plant availability and use by two species of soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) using community-gathered digital specimens

Authors: CATRON, KATLYN - Washington State University; HENNEN, DEREK - Virginia Tech; WAGNER, JENNIE - Virginia Tech; BROWN, BRYAN - Virginia Tech; Weber, Donald; KUHAR, THOMAS - Virginia Tech

Submitted to: Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/19/2023
Publication Date: 7/11/2023
Citation: Catron, K.A., Hennen, D.A., Wagner, J.F., Brown, B.L., Weber, D.C., Kuhar, T.P. 2023. Analysis of host plant availability and use by two species of soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) using community-gathered digital specimens . Annals of the Entomological Society of America. vol.116 pg.305-313. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad016.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad016

Interpretive Summary: Soldier beetles (genus Chauliognathus, often known as "leatherwings") are thought to be important predators in agricultural crops as larvae and adults. However, not much is known about the details of their occurence and abundance in different ecosystems, even though two species of adults are commonly encountered on flowers and a widespread in the US. Many images are posted to the community science website iNaturalist. These digital specimens collected by the public are a largely untapped source of ecological data that scientists can use to address research questions about plant-insect interactions and a many other topics. We mined data from photo observations on iNaturalist to see what flowers the two species of leatherwing beetles were associated with, compared to what flowers were available in the same times and areas. Chauliognathus marginatus was observed with white flowers more than expected based on their potential availability, while C. pensylvanicus was observed with yellow flowers over all other flower colors and more than expected based on their potential availability. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize a dataset mined and curated from community science photo observations to address species-specific behavior and ecology questions. With appropriate study design and analytical methods, these types of data could prove invaluable in future investigations of a variety of entomological and ecological questions. Researchers of ecological questions, as well as naturalists, gardeners, and community scientists, may be interested in these methods and results. Results may also be of interest to researchers and pest managers designing flower strips to support natural enemies in agricultural habitats.

Technical Abstract: Digital specimens collected by community members are a largely untapped source of entomological data. By mining data from photo observations uploaded to online community data repositories, researchers can utilize this wealth of information to address questions about predator-prey interactions, phenotypic variation within species, plant-pollinator interactions, and a host of other topics. We mined data from photo observations on the community science website iNaturalist to investigate patterns in host plant availability and affiliation by two species of soldier beetles, Chauliognathus marginatus (F.) and Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (De Geer). Chauliognathus marginatus was observed with white flowers more than expected based on their potential availability, while C. pensylvanicus was observed with yellow flowers over all other flower colors and more than expected based on their potential availability. Communities of flowers available to and observed with C. marginatus and C. pensylvanicus differed significantly at the family and genus levels. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize a dataset mined and curated from community science photo observations to address species-specific behavior and ecology questions. With appropriate study design and analytical methods, these types of data could prove invaluable in future investigations of a variety of entomological and ecological questions.