male	female
Valgus canaliculatus. Images by K. A. Swoboda
Map showing the distribution of Valgus canaliculatus

Key to species of Valgini

Description: Pronotal disc serrate along lateral edges, transverse medial ridges well developed, basal margin rounded; female with acuminate pygidial spine with central groove near apex, groove lacking irregular lateral serrations, moderately convex (in dorsal view); first segment of posterior tarsus as long as segments two and three combined in males, as long as segments two, three and four combined in females; both sexes brown with dark setae, patches of light-colored setae on pronotum, elytra, propygidium, pygidium, females with less light-colored setae than males, males with dense patch of yellow setae on abdominal sternites; length 4.0-5.0mm.

Distribution: Eastern United States. States include: ALABAMA, ARKANSAS, DELAWARE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MISSOURI, NEW JERSEY, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, PENNSYLVANIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, VIRGINIA, andWEST VIRGINIA.

Biological Data: Valgus canaliculatus adults feed on the nectar of flowers from sources such as beech (Castanea sp.), buckthorn (Ceanothus sp.), dogwood (Cornus sp.), hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) and mock orange (Philadelphus sp.) trees. Adults have been observed on honeysuckle (Viburnum sp.) and rose (Aruncus and Spiraea spp.) flowers, on Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota), and on oak (Quercus sp.) and pine (Pinus sp.) trees. Valgus canaliculatus is common in the nests of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). Valgus canaliculatus is frequently found together with Valgus seticollis. Both species are commonly found with Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera). Larvae feed on the walls of termite galleries. Pupation occurs in July and early August within small oval cells constructed of wood fragments or soil. Adults emerge in late summer and overwinter. Colonies contain males and females in almost equal numbers, although colonies have been observed in which the male is more abundant than the female.

Temporal Distribution: April-August (adults rarely recorded in February and November).

Larvae: Ritcher (1945, 1966) described the third-stage larvae.

References:
BANKS, N. and T.E. SNYDER. 1920. A revision of the nearctic termites. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 108:1-211.

BLATCHLEY, W.S. 1910. The Coleoptera or beetles of Indiana. Bull. Indiana Dept. Geol. Nat. Res., No. 1:1-1386.

CASEY, T.L. 1915. Valgus Scriba. Mem. Col. VI:391-394.

JAMESON, M.L. and K.A. SWOBODA. 2005. Synopsis of scarab beetle tribe Valgini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) in the New World. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 98(5): 658-672.

RATCLIFFE, B.C. 1991. The scarab beetles of Nebraska. Bulletin Univ. Nebr. St. Mus. 12:1-333.

RITCHER, P.O. 1945. North American Cetoniinae with descriptions of their larvae and keys to genera and species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Ky. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 476, 39pp.

RITCHER, P.O. 1945.1958. Biology of Scarabaeidae. Annual Rev. of Entomology 3:311-344.

RITCHER, P.O. 1945.1966. White Grubs and Their Allies. Oregon St. Univ. Press, Corvallis. 219 p.