Alocerus moesiacus (Frivaldszky, 1838)
[= Cyamophthalmus ferrugineus Kraatz, 1863]
[= Allocerus fulvus (Mulsant, 1862)]
[= Smodicum syriacum Chevrolat, 1882]

Subfamilia: SPONDYLIDINAE  /  Tribus: ANISARTHRINI
Alocerus moesiacus


[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Alocerus moesiacus, a widespread but relatively sparsely collected Mediterranean species occuring from the Iberian Peninsula to Iran, was described from Kazanlak environs (Stara Zagora province, Bulgaria) as Callidium moesiacum by Imre Frivaldszky in 1837 [✱]. A. moesiacus is broadly polyphagous species developing in various decidous trees (Populus, Ficus, Ulmus, Platanus, Quercus etc.). Its larvae infest dead parts of living trunks and feed in the wood that has contact with the living tissue. Development reported also in dead branches. Life cycle is 2 or 3 years. Adults, active from late May to early September, are nocturnal and can be attracted by light [✧].

Body length:9 - 20 mm
Life cycle:2 and more year
Adults in:May - September
Host plant:larvae feed in various deciduous trees (Populus, Ficus, Ulmus, Platanus, Quercus etc.)
Distribution: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Crete, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia


The mounted beetles were: ♂ - collected in Modi (Μόδι) village environs (Volvi municipality, Thessaloniki regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece) on July 7 - 19, 2012; ♀ - reared from larva collected in Ulmus in Dos Hermanas environs (Arroyo de las Culebras river valley, Sevilla province, Andalusia, Spain) on May 14, 2007. Depicted living beetle was captured on eastern slopes of Mount Ossa (Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece) in July 2020.

Collected by Zdeněk Kraus, Jerónimo Navarro, and Adam Woźniak


[✱]
Frivaldszky I.:
III. Természettudomány-osztalyi érrtekezés. VIII. Balkány vidéki természettudományi utazás.
Á Magyar Tudós Társaság' Évkönyvei 3: 156-184, 1837. [download pdf icon]

[✧]
Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte I / Partie I : Prioninae, Aseminae, Saphaninae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie 27 (3): 130-140, 2018. [download pdf icon]


Alocerus moesiacus
[Photo © Adam Woźniak]


 
SubfamiliaSpondylidinae Audinet-Serville, 1832
TribusAnisarthrini Mamaev et Danilevsky, 1973
GenusAlocerus Mulsant, 1862
SpeciesAlocerus moesiacus (Frivaldszky, 1838)