[= Prionus Henkei Schaufuß, 1879]
Subfamilia: PRIONINAE / Tribus: PRIONINI
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]
Mesoprionus asiaticus, a species occuring in Caucasus-Transcaucasia and surrounding territories, has been described from "Transcaucasia" as Prionus asiaticus by Franz Faldermann in 1837 [▽]. M. asiaticus, belonging among the rarest Cerambycidae species of the region, inhabits arid steppe/desert landscapes and dry highlands. Larval development in dead roots of deciduous trees (reported from Ficus carica and Tamarix). Adults, active from June to August, are crepuscular and noctural [❖].
Body length: ♂♂ 24 - 45 mm / ♀♀ 30 - 52 mm Life cycle: at least 3 years Adults in: June - August Host plant: polyphagous in dead roots of deciduous trees Distribution: South Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Turkey
The depicted male beetles were collected in: (AR) - 3-4 km SW of Masis (Մասիս) town (Ararat Province, Armenia) on June 13-16, 2006; (GE) - Vashlovani National Park (Kakheti region, Georgia).Collected by Artem Rubenian and Walter Grosser
[▽]
Faldermann F.:
Fauna entomologica Transcaucasica. Coleoptera 2. Longicornes vel Capricornes.
Nouveaux Mémoires de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou 5 (2): 1-433 [page 263], 1837. [download]
[❖]
Danilevsky M.L.:
Longicorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycoidea) of Russia and adjacent countries. Part 1.
Higher School Consulting, Moscow, 550pp [page 359], 2014. [download
| Subfamilia | Prioninae Latreille, 1802 |
| Tribus | Prionini Latreille, 1802 |
| Genus | Mesoprionus Jakovlev, 1887 |
| Species | Mesoprionus asiaticus (Faldermann, 1837) |