Ropalopus (Ropalopus) ledereri Fairmaire, 1866
ssp. wittmeri Demelt, 1970

Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE  /  Tribus: CALLIDIINI
Ropalopus ledereri wittmeri

[Photo © Lech Kruszelnicki]


Ropalopus ledereri, a beautiful and very rare species of the southeastern Mediterranean region, has beed described from Asia Minor by Léon Marc Herminie Fairmaire in 1866 [▽]. Its subspecies R. ledereri wittmeri, known from Lebanon, Syria and South Turkey, has been described by Carl von Demelt in 1970 [❖].

Both subspecies of R. ledereri are typical inhabitants of quickly receding Quercus calliprinos forest-steppe formations. Adult beetles can be found sitting on leaves of the hosts or occasionally they gather on juice-oozing oak trees. They never visit flowers.

Body length:10 - 15 mm
Life cycle:2 years
Adults in:May - June
Host plant:oaks (Quercus spp.)
Distribution:Lebanon, Syria, South Turkey


The depicted beetle was reared from larva found in oak (Quercus sp.) in Şenköy environs (700 m a.s.l., Antakya district, Hatay province, Turkey) on May 27, 1995.

Collected by Pierpaolo Rapuzzi


[▽]
Fairmaire L.M.H.:
Notice sur les Coléoptères récoltés par M. J. Lédérer sur le Bosz-Dagh (Asie Mineure).
Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, Paris (4) 6: 249-280, 1866. [download pdf icon]

[❖]
Demelt C.:
Eine neue Cerambycidenart aus Griechenland, eine neue Subspec. aus Kleinasien sowie einige neue Cerambycidenformen.
Entomologische Blätter für Biologie und Systematik der Käfer 66 (1): 30-32, 1970. [download pdf icon]



 
SubfamiliaCerambycinae Latreille, 1802
TribusCallidiini Mulsant, 1839
GenusRopalopus Mulsant, 1839
SubgenusRopalopus Mulsant, 1839
SpeciesRopalopus (Ropalopus) ledereri Fairmaire, 1866
SpeciesRopalopus (Ropalopus) ledereri wittmeri Demelt, 1970