Ergates faber faber

Ergates faber (Linnaeus, 1761)
ssp. faber (Linnaeus, 1761)
[= Cerambyx portitor Schrank, 1781]
[= Prionus bulzanensis Laicharting, 1784]
[= Prionus obscurus Olivier, 1795]
[= Prionus serrarius Panzer, 1793]
[= Prionus crenatus Fabricius, 1801]
[= Ergates grandiceps Tournier, 1872]

Subfamilia: PRIONINAE / Tribus: ERGATINI

[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Ergates faber is a widespread West Palearctic species which is in Central and Western Europe, however, in many places disappearing or extinct. E. faber has been described from Sweden as Cerambyx faber by Carl Linné in 1761 [✮]. Larvae of this beautiful species, belonging among the the biggest European longhorn beetles, develop in tree stumps and fallen logs, mainly of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). The adults are active around sunset and can be found from late July until late August-early September [❖].

Body length: 23 - 60 mm

Life cycle: at least 3 years

Adults in: July - September

Host plant: coniferous trees, prefers pine (Pinus)

Distribution: Portugal, Spain, France, Corsica, Italy, Sicily, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, European Russia; Algeria, Morocco, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Near East, Turkey, Iran, Syria, China: Taiwan, Iraq

The depicted mounted beetles were collected in Tomky environs (Borský Svätý Jur, Senica district, Trnava region, Slovakia) on July 27, 2004.
The living specimens were founs and photographed in Louny environs (Czechia) on July 7, 2019.
Collected by David Navrátil and photographed by Milan Lovětínský

[✮]
Linné C.:
Fauna Svecica sistens Animalia Sueciæ Regni : Mammalia, Aves, Amphibia, Pisces, Insecta, Vermes. Distributa per Classes & Ordines, Genera & Species, cum Differentiis Specierum, Synonymis Auctorum, Nominibus Incolarum, Locis Natalium Descriptionibus Insectorum.
Sumtu & Literis Direct, Laurentii Salvii, Stockholmiæ [1760]: i-xlvi + 578pp, 1761. [download ]
[❖]
Sláma M.E.F.:
Tesaříkovití – Cerambycidae České republiky a Slovenské republiky / Cerambycidae of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
Milan Sláma private printing, Krhanice, 383pp [pages 62-65], 1998 [ISBN: 80-238-2627-1]. [download ]
Danilevsky M.L.:
Longicorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycoidea) of Russia and adjacent countries. Part 1.
Higher School Consulting, Moscow, 550pp [pages 28-30], 2014. [download ]


Subfamilia	Prioninae Latreille, 1802
Tribus	Ergatini Fairmaire, 1864
Genus	Ergates Audinet-Serville, 1832
Species	Ergates faber (Linnaeus, 1761)
Subspecies	Ergates faber faber (Linnaeus, 1761)

Body length:	23 - 60 mm
Life cycle:	at least 3 years
Adults in:	July - September
Host plant:	coniferous trees, prefers pine (Pinus)
Distribution:	Portugal, Spain, France, Corsica, Italy, Sicily, Albania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, European Russia; Algeria, Morocco, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Near East, Turkey, Iran, Syria, China: Taiwan, Iraq

Michal Hoskovec © Last update: 17.I.2025