Bostrichus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nardi, Gianluca & Mifsud, David, 2015, The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands (Coleoptera), ZooKeys 481, pp. 69-108 : 77-78

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Bostrichidae

Bostrichus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Bostrychus capucinus (L.): Aitken 1975: 8.

Bostrichus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758): Nardi 2004b.

Literature records.

Malta: "Malta: wooden ornament" ( Aitken 1975); “Malta” ( Nardi 2004b).

Other material examined.

Jordan: Dana Reserve, El-Barrah, 1150 m, NE slope, 36R YU 517 926, 23.IV.-8.V.1995, D.P.I.T., Mediterranean environment, pt, 1 ex (MZUR); ditto, Wadi Araba Camp Site, 15-20.IV.1995, D.P.I.T., pt, 1 ex (MZUR). Syria: Palmyra, 15.VII.2003, G. Serra leg., 1 ex (MZUF).

Chorotype. Centralasiatic-Mediterranean, including parts of Northern Europe (cf. Nardi and Ratti 1995, as Bostrychus capucinus , Borowski 2007), the Algerian Sahara ( Lesne 1899, 1901b, both as Bostrychus capucinus ) and coastal Sudan ( Cloudsley-Thompson 1962, as Bostrychus capucinus ). This species reaches Altai mountains ( Lesne 1901b, Borowski and Węgrzynowicz 2007), Asian Kazakhstan ( Borowski 2007), Kyrgyzstan ( Vrydagh 1956, Ovtchinnikov 1996, in both cases as Bostrychus capucinus ), Tajikistan ( Lesne 1901b), Northwest China ( Lesne 1904, Horion 1961, in both cases as Bostrychus capucinus , Borowski 2007), China (without further details) ( Borowski 2007, Yan et al. 2010, as Bostrychus capucinus and Bostrychus capucinus var. rubrirenttis [sic!] Zouf [= rubriventris Zoufal, 1894]) and eastern Siberia ( Borowski 2007). It was intercepted numerous times at US ports, but is not yet established in North America (cf. Fisher 1950, Ivie 2002). The above record from Jordan is the first for this country (cf. Sharaf et al. 1983, Borowski 2007), even though the presence of this species in Jordan was expected because of its occurence in neibouring countries (e.g. Israel, Syria, etc.); in Israel the species was probably introduced with timber from Europe ( Bytinsky-Salz 1966, Bytinski-Salz and Sternlicht 1967, Halperin and Damoiseau 1980, in all cases as Bostrychus capucinus , Borowski 2007).

Ecology.

This species develops chiefly in the wood of oaks ( Quercus ilex , Quercus robur , Quercus toza , etc.), but is also recorded from many other broadleaves trees and scrubs such as Pinus , and timber (cf. Nardi and Ratti 1995, Sparacio 1997, Liberto and Audisio 2005, Bahillo de La Puebla et al. 2007, Baena and Zuzarte 2013). Occasionally it can produce house infestations ( Saccà 1940, as Bostrychus capucinus Geoffroy [sic!], Cavalloro and Ratti 1978, Lodos 1985, Hellrigl 2006, in all cases as Bostrychus capucinus ).

Notes.

The above record of Aitken (1975) was based on material collected in UK from cargo originating from Malta. The presence of this species in Malta needs to be confirmed. Although Quercus ilex is present in Malta, its abundance is very scarce on the archipelago (cf. Haslam et al. 1977, Schembri 1993, 1997). Bostrichus capucinus is known from other similarly small Mediterranean islands, such as the nearby Pantelleria Island, three circumsardinian islands ( Piras and Pisano 1972, as Bostrychus capucinus , Nardi and Ratti 1995), two northern Adriatic islands ( Müller 1923: 28, Schatzmayr and Müller 1925: 74, Luigioni 1929: 611, in all cases as Bostrychus capucinus ), and the Balearic Islands (cf. Español 1955, as Bostrychus capucinus ).