New record of the steppe longhorn beetle species Phytoecia (Musaria) argus (G. F. Frölich, 1793) (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) in Bulgaria
Gradinarov, Denis
Gjonov, Ilia
ZooNotes
2020
2020-01-31
155
1
4
4HLSR
(G. F. Frolich, 1793)
G. F. Frolich
1793
[285,802,1845,1870]
Insecta
Cerambycidae
Phytoecia
Animalia
Coleoptera
0
1
Arthropoda
species
argus
( Fig. 1C, Fig. 2A, B)
Material examined: Bulgaria: W Stara Planinarange, Chepun Mts., 2,5 km NW Golemo Malovo Vill., 42°57’17.9’’N 22°59’06.6’’E, 1065 m., dry calcareous grassland, 11.05.2019, 1 ♂, net sweeping, I. Gjonovleg. ( BFUS); the same data, but 42°57’17.5’’N 22°59’12.6’’E, 1078 m., 17.05.2019, 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, hand collection, D. Gradinarov& I. Gjonovleg. ( BFUS). All specimens collected by hand collection were found individually around the stems of Trinia glauca(L.) Dumort. ( Apiaceae), on the ground ( Fig. 1B, C).
Species of the genus SeseliL. ( Apiaceae) are most commonly cited as host plants of Ph. argus( Bense 1995, Rejzek et al.2001, Sama 2002, Migliaccio et al.2007, Hoskovec et al.2019). Known host plants of Seseligenus are summarized by Rejzek et al.(2001), including the following species – S. pallasiiBesser(syn. S. variumTrev.), S. annuumL., S. montanumsubsp. tommasinii(Rchb. f.) (syn. S. tommasiniiRchb.f.) and S. devenyenseSimonk. Alongwith this more accepted view, Zettel (2006)and Merkl & Szél (2012)reported a relationship of Ph. argusalso with T. glaucafrom the same plant family for Austriaand Hungary, respectively. According to Merkl & Szél (2012), beetles can be found as early as April at the base of both TriniaHoffm.and Seselihost plants. Adult beetles are active from April to June and the larval development is at the roots of both T. glaucaand Seselispp. ( Merkl & Szél 2012). Our record seems to confirm the ability of Ph. argusto use T. glaucaas a host plant as well. The distribution of Ph. argusseems to be restricted to the remnants of natural steppe habitats in the Western Palaearctic ( Schoppmann 1990, Pokorný 2005, Zettel 2006, Merkl 2008, Shapovalov 2012, Dedyukhin 2016). We conclude that the species may be useful as an indicator species for the assessment of the conservation status of natural steppe habitats in Europe. Fig. 2. Phytoecia argus(G. F. Frölich, 1793), Chepun Mts., 17.05.2019. A: male; B: female. Scale bar: 1 mm. The mountain petrophytic steppes are widespread in the low mountain regions of Western Bulgariaat an altitude of 500 to 1500 m( Tzonev et al.2011). The first report of Ph. argusfrom Bulgaria( Ganev 1984) lacks information on the habitat typeand host plant, but petrophytic steppes are also present in the area of the Zemen Gorge. The species is likely to be more widespread in suitable habitats in Western Bulgaria. In faunistic studies, host plants of both Seseliand Triniagenera must be checked for the presence of beetles.
2598038302
2019-05-11
BFUS
I. Gjonov
Bulgaria
1065
42.95497
Chepun Mts.
1
22.985167
Stara Planina
0
1
1
1
2598038301
2019-05-17
BFUS
D. Gradinarov & I. Gjonov
Bulgaria
1078
42.95486
Chepun Mts.
1
22.986834
Stara Planina
0
1
5
2
3