Determination of coleopteran insects associated with spore dispersal of Cryptoporus volvatus (Polyporaceae: Basidiomycota) in Korea

• We identify six coleopteran species associated with Cryptoporus volvatus in Korea using morphology and COI sequences.
• We quantify the number of spores attached to the bodies of insects, ranging between 1.0 × 104 and 5.2 × 105 spores per individual.
• Across localities, three species were shared: Aethina suturalis, Trogossita japonica and Parabolitophagus felix.

The veiled polypore, Cryptoporus volvatus, is distributed widely in North America and East Asia and is believed to have a mutualistic relationship with coleopteran species—the fungus providing food and shelter in basidiocarps and beetle helping disperse spores.Seventy fresh basidiocarps of C. volvatus were collected from the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) in the spring season of 2013 from two sites in Korea. A total of 251 insects (101 adult and 150 larvae) were collected from the inside of basidiocarps and identified using morphology and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences. Six species belonging to five coleopteran families were identified. The number of spores attached to the bodies of adult insects was counted and average spore counts for each of the six species ranged between 1.0 × 104 and 5.2 × 105 spores/individual. Across localities, three species were shared (Aethina suturalis, Trogossita japonica and Parabolitophagus felix) and carried spores at high densities on their bodies, making them more likely to aid in spore dispersal.

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