Phytoecia (Kalashania) pici Reitter, 1892
[= Kalashania pici (Reitter, 1892)]

Subfamilia: LAMIINAE  /  Tribus: SAPERDINI
Phytoecia pici
[Photo © Michal Hoskovec]

Phytoecia (Kalashania) pici, a Transcaucasian species occuring in Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Georgia and Iran, has been described from Azerbaidjan by Edmund Reitter in 1892 [✧].

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 - 15 mm
Life cycle:1 year
Adults in:May - June
Host plant:Apiaceae
Distribution:Azerbaidjan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran


Depicted beetle was collected and photographed on the host plant close to Dzori Taguhin Hotel ca 6.5 km E of Vayk (N39°41′34″ E45°32′26″; 1320 m a.s.l., Vayots Dzor Province, SE Armenia) on June 12, 2012;

Collected by Michal Hoskovec


[✧]
Reitter E.:
Fünfter Beitrag zur Coleopterenfauna des russischen Reiches.
Wiener Entomologische Zeitung 11 (2): 59-68, 1892. [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.


Phytoecia pici
Phytoecia pici
[Photo © Michal Hoskovec]
Phytoecia pici
Phytoecia pici
[Photo © Michal Hoskovec]


 
SubfamiliaLamiinae Latreille, 1825
TribusSaperdini Mulsant, 1839
GenusPhytoecia Dejean, 1835
Subgenus:Kalashania Danilevsky, 2010
SpeciesPhytoecia (Kalashania) pici Reitter, 1892