Vesperella maroccana Sama, 2008

Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE  /  Tribus: VESPERELLINI
Vesperella maroccana

[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]


Vesperella maroccana, a rare endemic species to Morocco known only from montane evergreen oak forests of the High Atlas, has been described from Tizi N'Test pass environs (High Atlas) by Gianfranco Sama in 2008 [☆]. V. maroccana larvae develop in living apical twigs of Quercus rotundifolia, which they girdle to interrupt of sap circulation. Pupation in the living part of the twig under the last girdle. Life cycle probably one year. Adults, active in July and August, are crepuscular/nocturnal and can be attracted by light [❖][✧].

Body length:8.5 - 10 mm
Life cycle:1 year [?]
Adults in:July - August
Host plant:holm oak (Quercus rotundifolia)
Distribution:an endemic species to Morocco


The depicted female beetle was reared from larva found in Quercus rotundifolia twig in Tizi N'Test pass environs (2100-2200 m a.s.l., High Atlas Mts., Al Haouz province, Marrakesh-Safi region, Morocco) on May 15, 2023.

Collected by Tomáš Lengál


[☆]
Sama G.:
Preliminary note on the Cerambycid fauna of North Africa with the description of new taxa (Insecta Coleoptera Cerambycidae).
Quaderni di Studi e Notizie di Storia Naturale della Romagna 4 27: 217-245, 2008. [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.) 28 (3): 143-185, 2019. [download pdf icon]

[✧]
Sama G.:
Atlas of the Cerambycidae of Europe and the Mediterranean Area. Volume 2: Northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt and Atlantic Isles.
Natura Edizioni Scientifiche di Alfonso Iorio, Bologna, Italy, 435 pp., 2023.
ISBN: 978-88-89327-16-6

Trócoli S.:
Una nueva especie del género Vesperella Dayrem (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) de Marruecos.
Faunitaxys 11 (5): 1-5, 2023. [download pdf icon]



 
SubfamiliaCerambycinae Latreille, 1802
TribusVesperellini Sama, 2008
GenusVesperella Dayrem, 1933
SpeciesVesperella maroccana Sama, 2008