Phoracantha semipunctata, a beutiful Australian species introduced to the West Palearctic region during 20th century, has been described from
"Nova Hollandia" (Australia) as Stenocorus semipunctatus by Johann Christian Fabricius in 1775 [❖]. P. semipunctata, as well as its sister species
Phoracantha recurva Newman, 1840 (also introduced from Australia) is ecologically
associated with eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus spp.) in which its larvae develop. Since it also attacks healthy trees, it is locally considered a pest.
| Body length: | 14 - 30 mm |
| Life cycle: | 1 - 2 years |
| Adults in: | April - October |
| Host plant: | Eucalyptus spp. |
| Distribution: | introduced from Australia to WP region (Algeria, Canary Islands, Corsica, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya,
Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey) |
The depicted mounted beetles were collected in: ♂ - Cagnes-sur-Mer environs (N43°41′05″ E07°10′08″;
150 m a.s.l., Alpes-Maritimes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, France) on July 12-21, 2016; ♀ - Rabat–Salé Airport (95 m a.s.l., Salé,
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, Morocco) on May 9, 2023.
Collected by David Navrátil
[❖]
Fabricius J.C.:
Systema Entomologiae, sistens insectorum classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, observationibus.
Officina Libraria Kortii, Flensburgi & Lipsiae 832pp [page 180], 1775.
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Cocquempot Ch. & Lindelöw Å.:
Longhorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Chapter 8.1.
Alien terrestrial arthropods of Europe (A. Roques, M. Kenis, D. Lees, C. Lopez-Vaamonde, W. Rabitsch, J.-Y. Rasplus, D. Roy, Eds.).
BioRisk 4 (1): 193-218, 2010.
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Trócoli S.:
Actualización del catálogo de Longicornios de Marruecos Actualisation du catalogue des Longicornes du Maroc (Parte III / Partie III : Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae).
Revue de l'Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie (R.A.R.E.) 28 (3): 143-185, 2019.
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Wang Q.:
A Taxonomic Revision of the Australian Genus Phoracantha Newman (Coleoptera : Cerambycidae).
Invertebrate Taxonomy 9 (5): 865-958, 1995.
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