[= Scotinauges diphysis Pascoe, 1871]
[= Moechotypa davidis Fairmaire, 1887]
Subfamilia: LAMIINAE / Tribus: CEROPLESINI
[Photo © Kirill V. Makarov, click on the picture for 4K resolution]
Moechotypa diphysis, an unmistakable species occuring in Russian Far East, China, Japan, and Korean Peninsula, has been described from Tsushima Island (Japan) as Scotinauges diphysis by Francis Polkinghorne Pascoe in 1871 [▽]. M. diphysis inhabits deciduous forests and although it is a polyphagous species, it strongly prefers oak in the Russian Far East. Females, after maturation feed on bark of thin oak shoots, lay egs on stems of dying or freshly felled/uprooted oaks. Larvae feed subcortically, create galleries longitudinal to the stem, and fill them with fine fibrous frass. Larvae of the last instar create the pupal cells under bark impressed in the upper layer of sapwood and pupate in them. In natural environment, pupation of larvae begins in late July and is completed in the second half of August. Young beetles hatch in August and early September, then leave the pupal cell and fly to the nearest trees, feed on the bark of thin shoots, and subsequently overwinter hidden in the forest litter at the tree bases. Life cycle 2 years [❖].
Body length: 15 - 24 mm Life cycle: 2 years Adults in: May - August (depending on region) Host plant: polyphagous in deciduous trees (prefers Quercus, but also in Juglans, Zanthoxylum, Ailanthus, etc.) Distribution: Russian Far East, China, Japan, and Korean Peninsula
The depicted beetles were collected on E of Sukhorechenskiy Ridge (Сухореченский Хребет) 3 km SSW of Primorsky (N43°04′28″ E131°33′22″; Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve, Khasansky district, South of Primorsky krai, Far Eastern Federal District, Russia) on May 29, 2015.Collected by Kirill V. Makarov and A.Matalin
[▽]
Pascoe F.P.:
XXXIII.-Descriptions of new Genera and Species of Longicorns, including three new Subfamilies.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London 8 (4) 46: 268-281, 1871. [download]
[❖]
Cherepanov A.I.:
Cerambycidae of Northern Asia, Volume 3 - Laminae Part I.
Amerind Publishing, New Delhi: 300pp [pages 241-247], 1990. [download
| Subfamilia | Lamiinae Latreille, 1825 |
| Tribus | Ceroplesini J. Thomson, 1860 |
| Genus | Moechotypa J. Thomson, 1864 |
| Species | Moechotypa diphysis (Pascoe, 1871) |