Bolivarita oculata Escalera, 1914

Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE  /  Tribus: OBRIINI
Bolivarita oculata
[Photo © Petr Jelínek]

Bolivarita oculata, an endemic species to Morocco, has ben described from As-Sawíra (Mogador) environs by Manuel Martínez de la Escalera in 1914 [✧]. Biology and larva of this very interesting and not so often collected nocturnal species were in detail described by Gianfarnco Sama in 1987 [✳]. Larvae of B. oculata develop in dying or dead thin branches (10-25 mm in diameter) of argan tree (Argania spinosa). The larvae create a relatively long (30 - 40 cm) and excrement/sawdust free gallery in the middle of the infested branches. Larval development lasts at least two years, the pupation takes place at the end of July at the end of the gallery blocked by a simple sawdust plug. Hatching, which begins in mid-August, continues until the end of September. Adults are nocturnal and are often attracted to light. The adults, sitting motionless on the twigs of the host tree during the day, are very active at night and fly away immediately when disturbed. [✳].

Body length:7 - 9 mm
Life cycle:at least 2 years
Adults in:August - September
Host plant:monophagous in Argania spinosa
Distribution:an endemic species to Morocco


The depicted living beetles were reared from larvae found in dying Argania spinosa twigs in Aourir ( ⴰⵡⵔⵉⵔ) environs (Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane province, Souss-Massa region, Morocco) on May 28, 2022.

Collected by Petr Jelínek


[✧]
Martínez de la Escalera y Pérez de Rozas M..:
Los Coleópteros de Marruecos.
Trabajos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Serie Zoológica 11: 553pp [pages 498-500], 1914 [download pdf icon]

[✳]
Sama G.:
Note préliminaire pour une faune des longicornes de l'Afrique du Nord.
Biocosme Mésogéen, Nice 4 (1): 43-64, 1987. [download pdf icon]

Villiers A.:
Coléoptères Cérambycides de l'Afrique du Nord.
Faune de l'Empire Français, ORSC Paris, 5: 1-152 [pages 70-71], 1946. [download pdf icon]

Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte III / Partie III : Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie (R.A.R.E.) 28 (3): 143-185, 2019. [download pdf icon]


Bolivarita oculata
Bolivarita oculata
[Photo © Petr Jelínek]


 
SubfamiliaCerambycinae Latreille, 1802
TribusObriini Mulsant, 1839
GenusBolivarita Escalera, 1914
SpeciesBolivarita oculata Escalera, 1914