Subfamilia: LAMIINAE / Tribus: AGAPANTHIINI
[Photo © Petr Jelínek]
North-African Agapanthia zappii, described by Gianfranco Sama in 1987 [❖], differs from a close species Agapanthia asphodeli (Latreille, 1804) by the green elytra with lateral-longitudinal grey pubescence band. Agapanthia zappii, replacing Agapanthia asphodeli (Latreille, 1804) in most regions of the North Africa, develops in asphodels (Asphodelus spp.). According to literature [✧][✮], female of A. zappii lays egg into living Asphodelus inflorescence and the larva feeds in the stem of the host plant, forming a gallery towards the base of the stem. A bulky sawdust plug, created by larva, seals the lower part of the gallery, while the upper end is closed by a much smaller plug. Pupation in autumn or early winter. Adults, active from late February to early June, are diurnal and can be collected on the host plants.
Host plant update May 2022: during our last expedition to Morocco, we observed many A. zappii adults exclusively on a completely different (hitherto undetermined) host plant from the Apiaceae family (fresh exit holes, eggs laying and feeding females, etc.).
Body length: 12 - 16 mm Life cycle: 1 year Adults in: February - June Host plant: Asphodelus aestivus, Asphodelus fistulosus, still undetermined Apiaceae Distribution: North Africa (Morocco, Lybia, Algeria, Tunisia)
The depicted beetles were collected on still undetermined Apiaceae in Oulmes (أولماس) environs (Khémisset province, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, Morocco) on May 13, 2022.Collected by Petr Jelínek
[❖]
Sama G.:
Note préliminaire pour une faune des longicornes de l'Afrique du Nord.
Biocosme Mésogéen, Nice 4 (1): 43-64, 1987. [download]
[✧]
Sama G., Ringenbach J.-C., and Rejzek M.:
A preliminary survey of the Cerambycidae of Lybia (Coleoptera).
Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, Paris 110 (4/5): 439-454, 2005. [download[✮]
Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte IV / Partie IV : Cerambycidae : Lamiinae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie (R.A.R.E.) 29 (1): 26-65, 2020. [download
| Subfamilia | Lamiinae Latreille, 1825 |
| Tribus | Agapanthiini Mulsant, 1839 |
| Genus | Agapanthia Audinet-Serville, 1835 |
| Subgenus | Epoptes Gistl, 1857 |
| Species | Agapanthia (Epoptes) zappii Sama, 1987 |