ssp. wachanrui Levrat, 1858
[= Purpuricenus bilunatus Schaufuss, 1871]
[= Purpuricenus haussknechti Witte, 1872]
[= Purpuricenus nanus Semenov, 1907]
[= Purpuricenus quadrinotatus Pic, 1912]
[= Purpuricenus mesopotamicus Ali, 1987]
[= Purpuricenus persicus Vartanis, 2023]
Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE / Tribus: TRACHYDERINI
[Photo © Sergei O. Kakunin]
Purpuricenus wachanrui, an Irano-Anatolian species known from Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, has been described from Turkey by Gustave Levrat in 1858 [✧]. P. wachanrui is extremely variable species with many known populations, especially in Iran. Its body is bigger or smaller, antennae can be longer or shorter, with 11 or 12 segments in one population, thoracic spines distinct or obliterated, black design of pronotum and elytra can be strongly developed or rather reduced. Similar populations are distributed mosaically in the area of occurence and similar forms can be strongly distant that makes difficult subspecies delimitation. Strong individual variability caused several taxa descriptions based on small series of specimens [✮].
The Iranian populations, originally described as Purpuricenus nanus Semenov, 1907 [▽] and as Purpuricenus persicus Vartanis, 2023] were synonymised with Purpuricenus wachanrui wachanrui by Mikhail Leontievich Danilevsky and Karel Hodek in 2024 [✮].
We observed massive emergence or "swarming" of this species in almost treeless summit parts of Nemrut Dağı National Park during the first decade of June 1996. Many hundreds of beetles mated on globe thistle (Echinops sp.) leaves and blossoms or flew around these remarkable Asteraceae plants [❖]. Moreover, in June 2011, we observed P. wachanrui wachanrui female laying eggs in the freshly pre-made hole in the basal part of Echinops stalk. So, with high probability, in South-East Turkey Echinops serves as host plant for this beautiful Cerambycid. Similar behavior we observed in P. wachanrui wachanrui population (formerly determined as P. nanus) in the vicinity of the village of Varkān (Isfahan province, Iran). Here, adults of this species swarmed, mated, and females prepared to lay eggs on globe thistle Echinops aff. ilicifolius (Cynareae, Carduoideae, Asteraceae).
Body length: 10 - 22 mm Life cycle: 1 - 2 years [?] Adults in: June - July Host plant: Echinops spp. / Echinops aff. ilicifolius (Cynareae, Carduoideae, Asteraceae) Distribution: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey
The mounted couples were collected: A – in Shamshīr (شمشير) village environs (1770-2000 m a.s.l., Central district of Paveh county, Kermanshah province, Iran) on May 22, 2015; B – on flowers and thistles in Varkān (وركان) village environs (2092 m a.s.l., Barzok district, Kashan vounty, Isfahan province, Iran) on May 22-23, 2017.The depicted living beetles were collected on Echinops sp. in: (MH) – plateaus under summit of Nemrut Dagi Mt. in June 2011; (PJ) – Līkbīn (لكبن) village environs (1630-2125 a.s.l., Lajan district, Piranshahr county, Āzarbāyjān-e Gharbī province, NW Iran) on June 6, 2018; (DN) – Varkān (وركان) village environs (2092 m a.s.l., Barzok district, Kashan vounty, Isfahan province, Iran) on May 22-23, 2017.
Collected by Michal Hoskovec, Petr Jelínek, David Navrátil and Sergei O. Kakunin
[✧]
Levrat G.:
Description de deux Coléoptères nouveaux.
Annales de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon (nouvelle série) 5: 261-263, 1858. [download]
[▽]
Semenov Tian-Shanskij A.P.:
De tribus novis Purpuriceni formis e fauna Asiae palaearcticae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae).
Revue Russe d'Entomologie, Saint-Petersbourg 6 (3-4) [1906]: 254-256, 1907. [download[✮]
Danilevsky M.L. and Hodek K.:
A complex of taxa around Purpuricenus wachanrui Levrat, 1858 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae)
Humanity space – International Almanac 13 (8): 662-687, 2024. [download[❖]
Rejzek M. and Hoskovec M.:
Cerambycidae of Nemrut Dagi National Park (Anatolia, South-East Turkey).
Biocosme Mésogéen, Nice 15 (4): 257-272, 1999. [downloadSimandl J.:
Íránští tesaříci rodu Purpuricenus / Iranian Longhorn Beetles of the Genus Purpuricenus.
Živa 1: 28-30, 2013. [download
[Photo © David Navrátil & 8K postprocessing Michal Hoskovec]
Purpuricenus wachanrui ♂ [Photo © Michal Hoskovec]
Purpuricenus wachanrui ♀ [Photo © Petr Jelínek]
Purpuricenus wachanrui ♂ [Photo © Michal Hoskovec]
[Photo © David Navrátil]
| Subfamilia | Cerambycinae Latreille, 1802 |
| Tribus | Trachyderini Dupont, 1836 |
| Genus | Purpuricenus Dejean, 1821 |
| Species | Purpuricenus wachanrui Levrat, 1858 |
| Subspecies | Purpuricenus wachanrui wachanrui Levrat, 1858 |