Rosalia alpina is an endangered and strictly protected icon of saproxylic biodiversity throughout its Europen range of occurence. Despite its popularity, information on its habitats and host-plants is insufficient, which may compromise the adoption of suitable conservation strategies. Rosalia alpina has been considered as montane species associated with beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Central Europe, whereas in Southern Europe the species has often been reported from lowlands and its host spectrum is broader. For example, in Bulgaria (Ropotamo, Black Sea coast) we observed its development in living tissue of field maple (Acer campestre). Čížek et al. (2009) published evidence of an elm-feeding population of Rosalia alpina occurring in a lowland beech-free forests in the Czech Republic. This information available suggest, that Rosalia alpina spreads into central European lowland forests along large rivers, and that spectra of hosts and habitats exploited by Rosalia alpina in Central Europe are wider than generally thought. Alteration of its habitat preference has either occurred in Central European populations, or lowland-inhabiting populations from the South are spreading northwards, possibly due to climate change.
The mounted beetles were collected on beech logs in West Ukraine. The living beetles were photographed in Bezděz Mt. (North Bohemia), one of the last (and strictly protected) locality of this beautiful species in the Czech Republic. Collected and photographed by M.Hoskovec.
MH & MR © January 14, 2010
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