Vadonia saucia (Mulsant & Godart, 1855)

Gradinarov, Denis, 2018, First record of Vadonia saucia (Mulsant & Godart, 1855) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Bulgaria, ZooNotes 2018 (126), pp. 1-3 : 1-3

Vadonia saucia (Mulsant & Godart, 1855) ( Fig. 1 )

Material examined: Yambol (in Cyrillic), 21.5.[19]59, 1 ♂, 1 ♀, [collector unknown], D. Gradinarov det. ( NMNHS) .

Vadonia saucia was described from Crimean Peninsula based on unicoloured black specimens and subsequently was misinterpreted as a melanistic form of V. bipunctata (Fabricius, 1781) (after Danilevsky 2009: 696). The species was revalidated by Danilevsky in 2009 after reexamined the specimens from the type series of V. bipunctata mulsantiana (Plavilstshikov, 1936) ( Danilevsky 2009: 696) .

The examined specimens from the Yambol town area in appearance and color are similar to common form of V. unipunctata unipunctata ( Fig. 1A, B ). The spines of the hind tibiae of the male specimen are paired. The reliable identification of V. saucia is possible only by morphology of the male genitalia ( Fig. 1C, D, E ) ( Danilevsky 2009: 696; 2014a: 262- 263; 2014b: 241). Arrow-like penis apex with sharply pronounced lateral edges is the most peculiar character of the species (Fig, 1 D). Parameres are less widened than in V. unipunctata ( Fig. 1 E ).

Until now V. saucia was known from a number of localities along the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula ( Danilevsky 2014b: 241) and from Romanian Dobrudzha ( Serafim 2006: 230, as V. hirsuta (K. Daniel & J. Daniel, 1891) ; Danilevsky 2014a: 262-263). In Crimea totally black forms are common, but rather rare in the Romanian population ( Danilevsky 2014a: 263).

The present record extends substantially the known range of V. saucia to the south. It is possible that the species is even more widespread in the region. It is not unlikely that the report of a closely related species V. insidiosa Holzschuh, 1984 from Fruška Gora, Serbia ( Pil & Stojanović 2007: 41), later considered doubtful ( Ilić & Ćurčić 2015: 23), to actually concerns V. saucia .

Collection of new specimens of the species in Bulgaria, as well as investigation of the population for the presence of black forms is desirable.

Figures

Fig. 1. Vadonia saucia from Yambol, Bulgaria. A: Male; B: Female; C: penis lateral view; D: penis apex; E: parameres; Scale bars: 1 mm.