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.
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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.
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