Genus MELANOPHILA Eschscholtz, 1829

synonym: Apatura Laporte & Gory 1837 . synonym: Oxypteris Kirby 1837 .

Melanophila acuminata (DeGeer) 1774: 133 ( Buprestis); Richter 1949: 239; Davatchi et al. 1959: 247; Farahbakhsh 1960: 75; Adeli 1972: 11; Abai & Adeli 1984: 2 -4; Modarres Awal 1997: 137; Kubáň 2006: 386; Bellamy 2008c: 1527; Sakenin et al. 2008: 36; Havaskary et al. 2012: 1.

synonym: acuta (Gmelin) 1790: 1939 ( Buprestis).

synonym: acuminata (Thunberg) 1787: 52 ( Buprestis, preoccupied by acuminata DeGeer 1774). synonym: appendiculata (Fabricius) 1793: 210 ( Buprestis).

synonym: longipes (Say) 1823: 164 ( Buprestis).

synonym: immaculata Mannerheim 1837: 70.

synonym: pecchiolii (Gory & Laporte) 1839: 33 ( Anthaxia).

synonym: assimilis LeConte 1850: 227.

synonym: rugata LeConte 1857: 7.

synonym: summifex (Gistel) 1857: 6 ( Phaenops); Kubáň 2006: 48 (synonym of acuminata). synonym: amica Gistel 1857: 38 ( Phaenops); Kubáň 2006: 48 (synonym of acuminata). synonym: opaca LeConte 1860: 213.

synonym: anthaxoides Marquet 1876: 368; Radjabi 1976: 129, 368.

Immatures: Burke 1919: 106; Richter 1949: 240; Palm 1962: 65; Benoit 1966: 1208; Soldatova 1969: 15; Bílý 1999: 19.

Biology/Bionomy: Richter 1949: 240; Bílý 2003: 61.

Host plant(s) within Iran. Juniperus, Cupressus (Davatchi et al. 1959; Farahbakhsh 1960; Adeli 1972); Pinus eldarica (Adeli 1972); Juniperus, Cupressus sempervirens var. horizontalis (Cupressaceae), Pinus spp. ( Pinaceae) (Farahbakhsh 1960; Abai & Adeli 1984; Modarres Awal 1997), Quercus castanefolia (Fagaceae) (Sakenin et al. 2008).

Distribution within Iran. East Azarbaijan (Sakenin et al. 2008; Havaskary et al. 2012), Fars (Radjabi 1976), generally distributed (Modarres Awal 1997), northern Iran (Richter 1949; Davatchi et al. 1959; Farahbakhsh 1960; Adeli 1972), Iran (no locality cited) (Kubáň 2006; Bellamy 2008c).

Distribution outside Iran. Albania, Algeria, Andora, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece,? Haiti, Hungary, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldavia, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,? Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, (Kubáň 2006; Bellamy 2008c).

Note. This species is associated with coniferous, the records for Quercus in Sakenin et al. (2008) as well as that for Fars (Radjabi 1976) may refer to M. cuspidata .

Melanophila cuspidata (Klug) 1829: No. 34 ( Buprestis); Richter 1949: 242; Davatchi et al. 1959: 247; Farahbakhsh 1960: 75; Radjabi 1968: 73; Adeli 1972: 11; Radjabi 1976: 129; Modarres Awal 1997: 137; Borumand 2002: 42; Kubáň 2006: 387; Bellamy 2008c: 1531.

synonym: nigrita (Fabricius) 1798: 134 ( Buprestis, preoccupied by nigrita Olivier 1790). synonym: regalis (Fabricius) 1801: 187 ( Buprestis, preoccupied by regalis Fabricius 1775). synonym: aequalis Mannerheim 1837: 71.

synonym: oxyura Marquet 1874: 32.

synonym: aerata Costa 1883: 42 .

synonym: acutespina Reitter 1893: 175.

synonym: jakowlewi Semenov-Tian-Shankij 1900: 589.

Biology/Bionomy: Richter 1949: 243.

Host plant(s) within Iran. Juniperus sp. ( Cupressaceae), Pistacia sp. ( Anacardiaceae), Ficus sp. ( Moraceae), Populus sp. ( Salicaceae) (Davatchi et al. 1959); Juniperus sp., Pistacia sp., Populus sp. (Adeli 1972); fig, juniper, pine, pistachio, sind poplar, white mulberry (Farahbakhsh 1960; Modarres Awal 1997). Distribution within Iran. Fars (Radjabi 1968, 1976; Modarres Awal 1997), Kermanshah (Radjabi 1968; Modarres Awal 1997; Borumand 2002), Khorasan (Richter 1949), Kuhgiloyeh & Boyerahmad (Borumand 2002), Iran (no locality cited) (Davatchi et al. 1959; Kubáň 2006; Bellamy 2008c).

Distribution outside Iran. Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria,? Cameroon, Chad, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, former Yugoslavia (Kubáň 2006; Bellamy 2008c; Bílý et al. 2011).