ssp. bicolor Reiche, 1877
[= Oberea erythrocephala maroccana Pic, 1914]
[= Oberea erythrocephala ab. Reichei Plavilstshikov, 1927]
Subfamilia: LAMIINAE / Tribus: SAPERDINI
[Photo © David Navrátil, click on the picture for 4K resolution]
Oberea erythrocephala, a widely distributed species (Europe except North, Middle East, Caucasus and Transaucaisa, Kazakthstan, Iran), has been described from Austria as Cerambyx erythrocephalus by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1776 [❖]. O. erythrocephala (sensu lato), together with other "spurge"-species of the Oberea's subgenus Amaurostoma, belongs thanks to extreme habitual variability among the very taxonomically problematic longhorn beetles. A number of subspecies have been described whose true validity is not entirely certain and the whole complex of taxa requires a detailed revision.
O. erythrocephala bicolor, a subspecies occuring in Morocco and south of Iberian peninsula, has been described from Portugal as Oberea bicolor by Louis Jérôme Reiche in 1877 [✧]. O. erythrocephala bicolor differs from nominotypical subspecies by its larger size, more robust body and by lateral margins of elytra lacking grey pubescence, therefore appearing darker than pronotal disc. The O. erythrocephala bicolor biology is most likely similar to the nominotypic subspecies. Adults, active from late May to July, are diurnal and can be found on the host plants [✮].
Body length: 10 – 16 mm Life cycle: 1 year Adults in: May – July Host plant: reported from Euphorbia nicaeensis, probably also other Euphorbia species Distribution: Portugal, Spain, Morocco
The depicted beetles were collected in Ifrane (ⵉⴼⵔⴰⵏ / إيفران) environs (N33°28′ W05°01′; 1855 m a.s.l., Middle Atlas Mts., Ifrane province, Fès-Meknès region, Morocco) on June 12–14, 2022.Collected by our friend Karel "Karlos" Hodek
[❖]
von Paula Schrank F.:
Beyträge zur Naturgeschichte. Mit sieben von Verfasser gezeichneten und in Kupfer gestochenen Tabellen.
Leipzig, Caspar Fritsch, 137 pp, 1776. [download]
[✧]
Reiche L. J.:
Séance du 26 septembre 1877. [Description de deux nouvelles espèces de Longicornes].
Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France (5) 7: cxl-cxli, 1877. [download[✮]
Sama G.:
Atlas of the Cerambycidae of Europe and the Mediterranean Area. Volume 2: Northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt and Atlantic Isles.
Natura Edizioni Scientifiche di Alfonso Iorio, Bologna, Italy, 435 pp., 2023.
ISBN: 978-88-89327-16-6Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte IV / Partie IV: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie (R.A.R.E.) 29 (1): 26-65, 2020. [download
Male genitalia of Oberea (Amaurostoma) erythrocephala bicolor Reiche, 1877 in detail: A. aedeagus, B. lateral lobes, C. subgenital plate.
[Photo © David Navrátil]
| Subfamilia | Lamiinae Latreille, 1825 |
| Tribus | Saperdini Mulsant, 1839 |
| Genus | Oberea Dejean, 1835 |
| Subgenus | Amaurostoma Müller, 1906 |
| Species | Oberea (Amaurostoma) erythrocephala (Schrank, 1776) |
| Subspecies | Oberea (Amaurostoma) erythrocephala bicolor Reiche, 1877 |