Beetles (Coleoptera) of Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

Beetles were collected as part of a biodiversity survey of Scatarie Island. Ninety-four species of Coleoptera have now been recorded from Scatarie Island, including 81 native and 13 introduced Palaearctic species. Seventeen species are recorded for the first time for Cape Breton Island. Of these five, Atheta remulsa Casey, Baeocera youngi (Cornell), Cyphon confusus Brown, Scirtes tibialis Guerin-Meneville, and Trixagus carinicollis (Schaeffer) are recorded for the first time in Nova Scotia. Other noteworthy records include the coccinellid Hyperaspis brunnescens (Dobzhansky), previously known from the American Midwest; an undescribed weevil in the genus Parenthis, and Atheta (Datomicra) acadiensis Klimaszewski & Majka, a recently described aleocharine rove beetle known only from the Maritime Provinces. The composition of this fauna is briefly discussed in the context of introduced species, flightless species, and island biogeography and biodiversity benchmarks in the province and region. Preliminary indications are that no more than (and possibly considerably less than) 2/3 of the predicted fauna on Scatarie Island has this far been documented. The composition of this island fauna is compared to the “source” fauna found in Cape Breton County to determine how representative the Scatarie Island fauna may be of the beetles found on the adjacent mainland.