Purpuricenus barbarus (Lucas, 1842)
[= Purpuricenus Dumerilii Lucas, 1847]

Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE  /  Tribus: TRACHYDERINI
Purpuricenus barbarus
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Purpuricenus barbarus, an interesting Maghrebian (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) taxon, has been described from El Kala environs (Algeria) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas in 1842 [▽]. P. barbarus larvae develop in dying twigs (0.5 to 3 cm in diameter) of Pistacia lentiscus and Quercus coccifera. The larval gallery is located in the center of the twig and in the extreme case is almost all wood consumed. Pupation takes place in April and the adult beetles leave the pupal cells in May. Adults are active from May to July [✧].

Body length:12.9 - 17 mm
Life cycle:2 - 3 years
Adults in:May - July
Host plant:polyphagous in deciduous trees (Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus coccifera)
Distribution:Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia


The mounted beetles were collected in Midar (ميضار) invirons (Driouch province, Oriental region, Morocco) on June 9, 1998. The living female beetle was reared from pupa collected in oak (Quercus coccifera) twig found in Tizi n'Test (تيزي نتاست) pass environs (1900-2100 m a.s.l., Haut Atlas Mts., Taroudant Province, Souss-Massa-Drâa region, Morocco) on May 27, 2022.

Collected by Tomáš Lackner and Petr Jelínek


[▽]
Lucas P.H.:
Aperçu des espèces nouvelles d'Insectes qui se trouvent dans nos possessions françaises du Nord de l'Afrique, deuxième décade. Famille des Longicornes.
Annales des Sciences Naturelles (Zoologie) 2 (18): 184-188, 1842. [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.) 8 (3): 143-185, 2019 [download pdf icon]

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


Purpuricenus barbarus
Purpuricenus barbarus
Purpuricenus barbarus
Purpuricenus barbarus
[Photo © Petr Jelínek]


 
SubfamiliaCerambycinae Latreille, 1802
TribusTrachyderini Dupont, 1836
GenusPurpuricenus Dejean, 1821
SpeciesPurpuricenus barbarus (Lucas, 1842)