Leiopus (Leiopus) wrzecionkoi Sama et Rapuzzi, 2011

Subfamilia: LAMIINAE  /  Tribus: ACANTHOCININI
Leiopus wrzecionkoi
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]



Leiopus wrzecionkoi, a rare species endemic to North-Eastern Syria, has been described from Ṣlenfah environs (Latakia governorate, Syria) by Gianfranco Sama and Pierpaolo Rapuzzi in 2011 [✱]. Although this interesting beetle is at first glance similar to the European L. punctulatus (Paykull, 1800) due to its black body and its elytral pattern, L. wrzecionkoi belongs to the L. syriacus (Ganglbauer, 1884) species group. Larvae develop in dead wood of deciduous trees (reared from larvae found in Alnus, adults beaten from oak branches) [✱].

Body length:9 - 11 mm
Life cycle:1 - 2 years
Adults in:May - June
Host plant:polyphagous on deciduous trees (Alnus, Quercus)
Distribution:an endemic species to North-Eastern Syria


The depicted male beetle (paratype) was reared from larva found in dead Alnus branch in Ṣlenfah (صلنفة) environs (1300-1800 m a.s.l., Jibāl an Nuşayrīyah Mts., Al-Haffah district, Latakia governorate, Syria) on April 18, 2010.

Collected by Antonín Wrzecionko


[✱]
Sama G. and Rapuzzi P.:
Description of three new species of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from Turkey and Syria.
Biodiversity Journal 2 (2): 85-88, 2011. [download pdf icon]

Khaldoun A. and Rapuzzi P.:
Second contribution to the knowledge of Longhorn Beetles of the Syrian Coastal Region (Coleoptera Cerambycidae).
Biodiversity Journal 7 (2): 261-272, 2016. [download pdf icon]



 
SubfamiliaLamiinae Latreille, 1825
TribusAcanthocinini Blanchard, 1845
GenusLeiopus Audinet-Serville, 1835
SubgenusLeiopus Audinet-Serville, 1835
SpeciesLeiopus (Leiopus) wrzecionkoi Sama et Rapuzzi, 2011