Neoplocaederus scapularis (Fischer von Waldheim, 1821)
[= Plocaederus scapularis (Fischer von Waldheim, 1821)]
[= Hammaticherus tataricus Gebler, 1841]

Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE  /  Tribus: CERAMBYCINI
Neoplocaederus scapularis
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Neoplocaederus scapularis, a widely distributed Central-Asian species known from Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and West China, has been described from Uzbekistan as Cerambyx scapularis by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim in 1821 [★]. According to Martin Rejzek et al. [❖] in Iran Neoplocaederus scapularis develops in Ferula foetida (Apiaceae). The larvae, primarily feeding on the rhizomes and roots of host plants, pupation in calcareous cocoons in the soil. Life cycle one or two years. The adults appear and feed on the flowers or stems of the host plants from the end of April to July, depending on the local altitude. The beetles are predominantly crepuscular/nocturnal and are often attracted to light [✳].

Body length:25 - 40 mm
Life cycle:2 - 3 years
Adults in:May - July
Host plant:Ferula spp. (in Iran reported from Ferula foetida)
Distribution:Afghanistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China (Xinjiang)


The depicted mounted beetles were collected in Kondara gorge (2300 m a.s.l., Varzob district, Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction, Tajikistan) on June 24, 1989. The living specimens were photographed on the host plant (Ferula foetida) in sandy semidesert locality 16.5 km S of Beyneu (Бейнеу) village (Beyneu district, Mangystau region, Kazakhstan) on May 6, 2013.

Collected by Antonin Wrzecionko and Evgeny V. Komarov


[★]
Fischer von Waldheim G.:
Lettre adressée au nom de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, à l'un de ses membres M. le Docteur Chrétien-Henri Pander, contenant une notice sur un nouveau genre d'Oiseau et sur plusieurs nouveaux Insectes. Catalogus Animalium in itinere inde ab Orenburg ad Bokaram usque collectorum.
De L'Imprimerie D'Augusti Semen, Moscou: 5-15, 1821. [download pdf icon]

[❖]
Rejzek M., Sama G., Alziar G., Sádlo J.:
Host Plants of Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor and Iran.
Biocosme Mésogéen, Nice 19 (3): 161-189, 2003. [download pdf icon]

[✳]
Kadyrov A.K., Karpiński L., Szczepański W.T., Taszakowski A. and Walczak M.:
New data on distribution, biology, and ecology of longhorn beetles from the area of west Tajikistan (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae).
ZooKeys 606: 41-64, 2016. [download pdf icon]


Neoplocaederus scapularis
Neoplocaederus scapularis
Neoplocaederus scapularis
[Photo © Evgeny V. Komarov]


 
SubfamiliaCerambycinae Latreille, 1802
TribusCerambycini Latreille, 1804
GenusNeoplocaederus Sama, 1991
SpeciesNeoplocaederus scapularis (Fischer von Waldheim, 1821)