New Coleoptera records from owl nests in Nova Scotia, Canada

A preliminary study of boreal owl, Aegolius funereus richardsoni (Bonaparte), and northern sawwhet owl, Aegolius acadicus acadicus (Gmelin), nests from Nova Scotia, Canada revealed the presence of 14 species of Coleoptera, several of which represent significant extensions of their known ranges. Atheta (Datomicra) celata (Erichson) is newly recorded for North America; Atheta irrita Casey is newly recorded for Canada and eastern North America; Atheta pseudocrenuliventris Klimaszewski, and Hylota ochracea Casey are newly recorded for Nova Scotia; and Gnathoncus barbatus Bousquet and Laplante, Carcinops pumilo (Erichson), and Phyllodrepa floralis (Paykull) are newly recorded for Cape Breton Island. Gnathoncus barbatus, H. ochracea, A. irrita, A. pseudocrenuliventris, and Corticarina cavicollis (Mannerheim) are all recorded for the first time from bird nests. One new synonym Atheta (Datomicra) celata (Erichson, 1837) [= Datomicra wrangeli Casey 1911. syn nov.] is designated. Additional new records of A. irrita from Québec are also reported. Attention is drawn to the limited state of knowledge of this specialized beetle fauna and to the high proportion (50%) of adventive species which were found in these environments.