Arabogracilia saudita, an tiny endemic species to Saudi Arabia, has been described from Raydah reserve (Abha province, Saudi Arabia) by Pierpaolo Rapuzzi and Hathal al Dhafer in 2024 [✧].
A. saudita larvae develop in thin dying/dead branches and twigs of broadleaf shrubs and trees (e.g. Rosa cf. abyssinica, Dodonaea viscosa , Acacia sp.).
The larvae start feeding subcortically, and just before pupation they enter the sapwood where they create an oval pupal cell. The adults run very fast on the dry twigs and suddenly.
The biology of A. saudita is generally very similar to the closely related and common species Gracilia minuta (Fabricius, 1781).
Adults are mainly active at dusk and at night when they can be found on host trees. They are also attracted by light [✧].
| Body length: | ♂♂ 2–6.5 mm, ♀♀ 3–7 mm |
| Life cycle: | 1 year |
| Adults in: | April - June |
| Host plant: | polyphagous in broadleaf shrubs and trees (e.g. Rosa cf. abyssinica, Dodonaea viscosa , Acacia sp.). |
| Distribution: | an endemic species to Saudi Arabia |
The depicted beetle was reared from larva found in Rosa cf. abyssinica twig 10 km W Abha (Abha province, Saudi Arabia) in spring 2024.
Collected by Lukáš Skořepa
[✧]
Rapuzzi P. and al Dhafer H.:
The Cerambycidae fauna of Saudi Arabia (Coleoptera).
Revue suisse de Zoologie 131 (1): 177-217, 2024.
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