Phytoecia (Helladia) testaceovittata (Pic, 1934)
ssp. natali Lobanov, 1994
[= Phytoecia natali Lobanov, 1994]

Subfamilia: LAMIINAE  /  Tribus: SAPERDINI

---

[Photo © Sergei O. Kakunin, click on the picture for 4K resolution]

Phytoecia testaceovittata, a very rare species close to Phytoecia (Helladia) armeniaca Frivaldszky, 1878, has been described from Kojim island (Urmia Lake, Iran) as Musaria testaceovittata by Maurice Pic in 1934 [▽]. For a long time it was classified as a subspecies of P. armeniaca, re-described several times and is now again considered a valid separate species with two subspecies - a nominative (endemic to Iran) Phytoecia (Helladia) testaceovittata testaceovittata (Pic, 1934) and to Azerbaijan endemic subspecies Phytoecia testaceovittata natali described by Andrei Lvovich Lobanov in 1994 [✧][❖]. Body length: 8 – 112 mm Life cycle: 1 year Adults in: May - June Host plant: Asteraceae Distribution: an endemic subspecies to Azerbaijan The depicted beetle male (holotype, collection of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences) was collected 14 km west of Kilyazi (Килязи) in Absheron district (Absheron region, Azerbaijan) on May 6, 1988. Collected by A.L.Lobanov [▽] Pic M.: Notes diverses, nouveautés (Suite.). L'Échange, Revue Linnéenne 50 (455): 17-19, 1934. [✧] Lobanov A.L: Phytoecia natali sp. n. – a new species of longicorn beetle from the Caucasus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Zoosystematica Rossica 3 (1): 105–106, 1994. [download ]

---

Helladia iranica Villiers, 1960 and Helladia natali Lobanov, 1994, syn.n. of Helladia armeniaca testaceovittata Pic, 1934. The type specimen of Musaria testaceovittata, described from “Kojim, Lac Urmia” and currently regarded as species incertae sedis [Breuning, 1951], has recently been located in the Zoological Museum of Moscow University. It clearly belongs to Helladia Fairmaire, and agrees with the same species subsequently described as H. iranica and H. natali. Özdikmen created the name Helladia armeniaca holzschuhi. This is an obvious misunderstandig which cannot be explained, since Holzschuh neither described H. armeniaca iranica, nor mentioned such a name in the article quoted by Özdikmen. Helladia armeniaca holzschuhi Özdikmen, 2008 is to be consequently regarded as nomen nudum, since it was created as a replacement name for a non existing name.

Females (a single female is known in Ph. testaceovittata natali) of Ph. t. testaceovittata and Ph. t. natali considerably differs by very wide prothorax, wider body and shorter antennae, besides the locality of P. natali is strongly distant from the area (Iran) of Ph. testaceovittata. So, synonyms Ph. testaceovitata (Pic, 1934) = Ph. natali Lobanov, 1994 can not be accepted. Ph. testaceovitta natali is a northern subspecies.

---

Excerpted from:

[❖]
Danilevsky M.L.:
Additions and corrections to the new Catalogue of Palaearctic Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) edited by I. Löbl and A. Smetana, 2010.
Russian Entomological. Journal 19 (3): 215–239, 2010. [download ]

---

Subfamilia	Lamiinae Latreille, 1825
Tribus	Saperdini Mulsant, 1839
Genus	Phytoecia Pic, 1892
Subgenus	Helladia Fairmaire, 1864
Species	Phytoecia (Helladia) testaceovittata (Pic, 1934)
Subspecies	Phytoecia (Helladia) testaceovittata natali Lobanov, 1994