Purpuricenus robusticollis, a rare species endemic to West Iran, has been described from "Perse" (Iran) by Maurice Pic in 1905 [▽]. The bionomy of this hitherto little-known and collected species was clarified only recently by Czech entomologists in 2013 [❖]. Adults of P. robusticollis were collected on the flowers of Centaurea behen and also on the stems of thistle Cousinia silyboides (Cynareae, Carduoideae, Asteraceae). Several specimens were found in pupal cells in the soil at the roots of these thistles at a depth of 10-15 cm. The larvae live in the soil and feed on the roots of the host plant.

Body length:	12 - 20 mm
Life cycle:	2 - 3 years
Adults in:	May - June
Host plant:	Cousinia silyboides (Cynareae, Carduoideae, Asteraceae)
Distribution:	a species endemic to West Iran

The depicted female beetle was collected in Alīgūdarz (الیگودرز) environs (Zagros Mts., Alīgūdarz county, Ostān-e Lorestān preovince, Iran) on June 3, 2010.

Collected by J.Dalihod

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[▽]
Pic M.:
Descriptions et Notes Diverses.
Matériaux pour servir à l'étude des Longicornes 5 (2): 5-15, 1905. [download ]

[❖]
Ambrus R. & Grosser W.:
Results of the Czech entomological expedition to Iran (2009-2010) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Humanity space - International almanac 2 (3): 461-482, 2013. [download ]