VOLUME 55, NUMBER 1 
7 
moist weather. The aethalia containing Anisotoma and Agathidium were 
usually located in moist sites under bark or on the surface in deep shade, 
while Enicmus and Odontosphindus were often found in very exposed sites. 
The mycetozoans listed as hosts in Table 1 belong to four of the five orders 
of Myxogastria (the true slime molds) recognized by Oliver (1975); it is likely 
that all slime mold sporangia of sufficient size are subject to attack by bee¬ 
tles. 
It is probable that most or all of the Coleoptera specializing on myceto¬ 
zoans feed on the spores; Andrews (1977) has found this to be the case for 
the lathridiid Reveliera californica Fall. The basis for the differentiation of 
Mycetozoa as a coleopteran food-niche may be nutritional, or be related to 
the rapid desiccation of the slime mold. The slime mold fauna is clearly 
derived from mycophagous taxa, even though the Mycetozoa are best re¬ 
garded as colonial Protozoa not directly related to the true Fungi (Olive, 
1975). It is interesting to note that this speciality can be observed among 
the Coleoptera at the family (Sphindidae), genus ( Anisotoma, Enicmus), and 
species ( Agathidium , in part) taxonomic levels. 
Aside from beetles the Diptera appear to be the only important insect 
associates of slime molds. Buxton (1954) bred 16 species of flies, repre¬ 
senting 10 families, from mycetozoans. These included several apparent 
slime mold specialists, as well as a number of common saprozoic species 
which feed on rotting plasmodia. The absence of fly-infested material from 
my collections presumably accounts for the lack of predatory, mycetophi- 
lous staphylinids in my list, in contrast to those cited by Benick (1952). 
Collection Data 
Fuligo septica (Gmelin) 
Oregon: Benton County, a) MacDonald State Forest, VII-18-75, Loren 
Russell Collector. 1 aethalium on Douglas fir stump: Odontosphindus clav- 
icornis Csy. (10 specimens), Sphindus crassulus Csy. (1), Enicmus cordatus 
Bel. (14). Many beetles escaped, b) Marys Peak, 610 m elevation, V-8-77, 
Loren Russell. 1 aethalium on small branch: Anisotoma errans Brown (5). 
c) Marys Peak, 610 m, V-3-88, Loren Russell. 1 moist aethalium on stump. 
Agathidium pulchrum LeConte (1), Agathidium brevisternum Fall (1). 
Marion County. Mt. Jefferson Wilderness Area, 10 km SE Breitenbush 
Hot Springs, 600 m, VIII-24-75, Bill Frost. 1 moist aethalium on Douglas fir 
stump: Anisotoma confusa Horn (12). 
Jefferson County, a) 8 km N Suttle Lake, 930 m, VIII-9-75, Loren Russell. 
3 aethalia on ponderosa pine litter on old log: O. clavicornis (38 adults, 5 
pupae, 2 larvae), E. cordatus (3), Anisotoma errans Brown (2). b) Metolius 
River area, 900-950 m, V-28-76, Loren Russell and P. J. Johnson. Aethalia 
under bark of ponderosa pine stumps: O. clavicornis (7), E. cordatus (3), 
