ssp. welensii (Küster, 1845)
[= Cerambyx velutinus Brullé, 1832]
[= Hammaticherus Welensii Küster, 1845]
Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE / Tribus: CERAMBYCINI
Cerambyx welensii welensii ♂ [Photo © Nikola Rahmé]
Cerambyx welensii, a xerophilic species occuring from Spain to Iran, has been described from Peloponnese (Greece) as Cerambyx velutinus by Auguste Gaspard Brullé in 1832 [▽]. This name has been used for almost 160 years, but due to the pre-occupation of the name velutinus (and according to ICZN rules) currently is the valid and used species name welensii [✯]. It was first used by Heinrich Carl Küster in his description of the same taxon from Trieste environs (Italy) as Hammaticherus Welensii in 1845 [✱].
C. welensii inhabits xerothermic localities such as oak forest edges, forest steppes with solitary oaks or grazing oak forests. Larval development under the bark and in the wood of living trunks or stronger branches of oaks (Quercus). The larvae of the first instars feed subcortically creating broad galleries, the mature larvae then enter the wood where they also pupate before the last overwintering. Species attacks oaks of all trunk diameters, from relatively thin younger trees to the massive ancient solitery trees. Life cycle 3 years. Adults, active from late May to july, are crepuscular/nocturnal and can be found on the host trees or also attracted to light. During the day, the adults are often hidden in exit holes [❖].
Body length: 25 - 65 mm Life cycle: 3 years Adults in: May - August Host plant: oaks (Quercus spp.) Distribution: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbie, Montenegro, Iran
The depicted beetles were photographed in Grebaštica village environs (Šibenik-Knin county, Croatia) on June 25, 2012Collected by Nikola Rahmé
[▽]
Brullé A.G.:
Expédition scientifique de Morée. Section des Sciences Physiques. Tome III. - 1.re Partie. Zoologie. Deuxième Section. - Des animaux articulés.
F. G. Levrault, Paris 3 (1/2): 1-400, 1832-1836. [download]
[✯]
Sama G.:
Note sulla nomenclatura dei Cerambycidae della Regione mediterranea (Coleoptera).
Bolletino della Società Entomologica Italiana, Genova 123 (2): 121-128, 1991. [download[✱]
Küster H.C.:
Die Käfer Europa's. Nach der Natur beschrieben. Mit Beiträgen mehrerer Entomologen.
Nürnberg, Bauer & Raspe 2: n° 1-100, 1845. [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 [page 93], 1998 [ISBN: 80-238-2627-1]. [download
Cerambyx welensii welensii ♂ [Photo © Nikola Rahmé]
Cerambyx welensii welensii ♀ [Photo © Nikola Rahmé]
| Subfamilia | Cerambycinae Latreille, 1802 |
| Tribus | Cerambycini Latreille, 1804 |
| Genus | Cerambyx Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Subgenus | Cerambyx Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Species | Cerambyx (Cerambyx) welensii (Küster, 1845) |
| Subspecies | Cerambyx (Cerambyx) welensii welensii (Küster, 1845) |