Phytoecia (Kalashania) erivanica Reitter, 1899
[= Phytoecia nigritarsis var. erivanica Reitter, 1899]
[= Conizonia (Semiangusta) nigritarsis (Reitter, 1899)]

Subfamilia: LAMIINAE  /  Tribus: SAPERDINI
Phytoecia erivanica
[Photo © Maxim E. Smirnov and Denis G. Kasatkin]

Phytoecia (Kalashania) erivanica, a species occuring in Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey, has been first described from Van environs (Turkey) as Phytoecia nigritarsis (form with dark elytra) by Maurice Pic in 1895 [✧]. Edmund Reitter described a rusty brown form of this species from Yerevan (Armenia) as Phytoecia nigritarsis var. erivanica in 1899 [✧]. The combination of both names created today's valid name Phytoecia (Kalashania) erivanica.

Kalashania Danilevsky, subgen. nov. of Phytoecia Dejean, 1835. Type species: Phytoecia erivanica Reitter, 1899. This subgenus differs from Phytoecia s. str., by the first antennal segment distinctly impressed near apex, similar to that in Conizonia Fairmaire, 1864. It differs from the latter by the thin, long antennae with long fourth antennal segment. Kalashania includes, in addition to the type species, Phytoecia pici Reitter, 1892 and P. truncatipennis Pic, 1919. These three species were traditionally placed in Semiangusta Pic, l892, considered either as a valid subgenus of Conizonia, or a valid genus (Plavilstshikov, 1948), a subgenus of Phytoecia Dejean, 1835 (Lobanov & al., 1982, Danilevsky & Miroshnikov, 1985), or a synonym of Phytoecia (Breuning, 1951, 1966). Currently, Semiangusta is used as at valid genus. It was fixed by Sama and Rejzek (2002) who designated Conizonia delagrangei Pic, 1891 as its type species. The act led to exclusion of Phytoecia erivanica, P. pici and P. truncatipennis from Semiangusta, because of the distinctive shape of the apical abdominal segment. Thus, these three species became unplaced within the Phyteciini and it was necessary to establish for them a new genus-group taxon. [excerpted from ❖]

Body length:8 - 12 mm
Life cycle:1 year
Adults in:May - June
Host plant:Apiaceae
Distribution:Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Turkey


Depicted mounted beetles were collected in: ♂ - Khosrov Forest State Reserve (Խոսրովի անտառ պետական արգե; Vedi district, Ararat Province; Armenia) on May 29, 2009; ♀ - Gechser environs (Mazandaran province, Iran) on June 1, 2014.

Collected by Pavel V. Romantsov and Igor V. Shokhin


[✧]
Pic M.:
Descriptions de Longicornes d'Arménie et régions voisines.
L'Échange, Revue Linnéenne 11 (124): 38-40, 1895. [download pdf icon]

[✧]
ReitterE.:
Elfter Beitrag zur Coleopteren-Fauna von Europa und den angrenzenden Ländern.
Wiener Entomologische Zeitung 18 (5-6): 155-161, 1899. [download pdf icon]

[❖]
Löbl I. & Smetana A.:
Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Volume 6 Chrysomeloidea.
I. Löbl & A. Smetana editors, Apollo books, Stenstrup 6: 1-924, 2010.



 
SubfamiliaLamiinae Latreille, 1825
TribusSaperdini Mulsant, 1839
GenusPhytoecia Dejean, 1835
Subgenus:Kalashania Danilevsky, 2010
SpeciesPhytoecia (Kalashania) erivanica Reitter, 1899