Paracorymbia (Batesiata) tesserula (Charpentier, 1825)
[= Leptura tesserula Charpentier, 1825]
[= Brachyleptura tesserula (Charpentier, 1825)]
[= Batesiata tesserula (Charpentier, 1825)]
[= Stictoleptura (Batesiata) tesserula (Charpentier, 1825)]

Subfamilia: LEPTURINAE  /  Tribus: LEPTURINI
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula[Photo © Daniel Rydzi]

Paracorymbia tesserula, a species widespread from the Caucasus region to the Balkan Peninsula and as a rarity penetrating as far as Central Europe (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), has been described from Hungary as Leptura tesserula by Toussaint Charpentier in 1825 [✮]. The classification of this taxon into the genus and subgenus is the subject of controversy among experts, the authors of the portal are inclined to the opinion of Alexander I. Miroshnikov, who assigns it to the genus Paracorymbia and the subgenus Batesiata [✩].

Interestingly, P. tesserula is one of the last longhorn beetles occurring in Central Europe where the biology is virtually unknown. The larva of this beetle has never been collected. Švácha (in: Švácha and Danilevsky, 1988; ❖) reared larvae of this species ex ovo from "rotten beach wood". Therefore, the species might be associated with beach woods where it is also frequently recorded. One of the many theories says that larvae of this species might feed underground on rotting roots of the hosts. But it has never been confirmed. The species reaches its western border in Bohemia. The westernmost locality of P. tesserula known to us is Hradec Králové (East Bohemia, Czech Republic) [✧].

Adults of this beautiful species, active from June to August, are diurnal and anthophilous.

Body length:♂♂ 10.5 - 14.5 mm / ♀♀ 12 - 18 mm
Life cycle:2 years [?]
Adults in:June - August
Host plant:polyphagous in deciduous trees
Distribution:Czechia, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey


The depicted beetles were photographed on flowers in: (DR♂) - Krajná Poľana village environs (Svidník district, Prešov region, NE Slovakia) on July 27, 2020; (DR♀) - Nová Sedlica village environs (Poloniny National Park, Snina district, Prešov region, NE Slovakia) on June 29, 2019; (MH) - mountains 2 km W of Getahovit (Գետահովիտ, Ijevan, Tavush Province, Armenia) on June 18, 2012.

Collected by Daniel Rydzi and Michal Hoskovec


[✮]
Charpentier T.:
Horae Entomologicae adjectis tabulis novem coloratis.
Gosohorsky, Wratislawiae : i-xvi + 255pp, 1825. [download pdf icon]

[❖]
Švácha P. and Danilevsky M.L.:
Cerambycoid larvae of Europe and Soviet Union (Coleoptera, Cerambycoidea). Part III.
Acta Universitatis Carolinae - Biologica 32: 1-205, 1988. [download pdf icon]

[✧]
Mertlík J.:
Přehled nálezů tesaříka Brachyleptura tesserula (Charpentier, 1825) (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) z Čech (Česká republika).
[ A rewiew of findings of longhorn-beetle Brachyleptura tesserula (Charpentier, 1825) (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera) from Bohemia (Czech Republic). ]
Elateridarium 3: 174-182, 2009. [download pdf icon]

[✩]
Miroshnikov A.I.:
Myths and reality: critical remarks on M.L. Danilevsky’s monograph, “Longicorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycoidea) of Russia and adjacent countres. Part 1“.
[ Мифы и реальность: критические замечания по поводу монографии М.Л. Данилевского «Жуки-усачи (Coleoptera, Cerambycoidea) России и соседних стран. Часть 1». ]
Caucasian Entomological Bulletin 12 (1): 181–214, 2016. [download pdf icon]

Sláma M.E.F.:
Tesaříkovití – Cerambycidae České republiky a Slovenské republiky / Cerambycidae of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
Milan Sláma private printing, Krhanice, 383pp [pages 249-250], 1998 [ISBN: 80-238-2627-1]. [download pdf icon]


Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula[Photo © Daniel Rydzi]
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula[Photo © Daniel Rydzi]
Paracorymbia tesserula
Paracorymbia tesserula[Photo © Michal Hoskovec]


 
SubfamiliaLepturinae Latreille, 1802
TribusLepturini Latreille, 1802
GenusParacorymbia Miroshnikov, 1998
GenusBatesiata Miroshnikov, 1998
SpeciesParacorymbia (Batesiata) tesserula (Charpentier, 1825)