Purpuricenus interscapillatus, a rare taxon occuring in Turkey and Near East, has been originally described from Asia Minor as Purpuricenus budensis v. humeralis by Maurice Pic in 1891 [✧].
But thanks to preoccupation of name humeralis, valid is name Purpuricenus budensis v. interscapillatus published first by Nikolai Nikolaevitch Plavilstshikov in 1937 [✮].
However, it is currently considered a separate species with many subspecies (Rapuzzi P. and Sama G., 2013 [❖]). Its subspecies P. interscapillatus longevittatus, known from Lebanon and Syria,
has been decribed from Lebanon by Maurice Pic in 1941 [✳].
| Body length: | 12 - 18 mm |
| Life cycle: | 2 - 3 years |
| Adults in: | June - July |
| Host plant: | oaks (Quercus) |
| Distribution: | Lebanon, Syria |
The depicted beetle was found on oak (Quercus sp.) in Burqush (برقش) environs (Qatana district, Rif Dimashq governorate, Syria) on June 7-8, 1997.
Collected by our friend Martin Johanides
[✧]
Pic M.:
Faune Franco-algérienne (variétés).
Matériaux pour servir à l'étude des Longicornes 1 (1): 1-50, 1891.
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[✮]
Plavilstshikov N.N.:
Synonymische Bemerkungen über Cerambyciden (Coleoptera) IV.
Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstage von Professor Dr. Embrik Strand 3: 246-248, 1937.
[❖]
Rapuzzi P. and Sama G.:
Revision of the Purpuricenus interscapillatus species - group and allied taxa (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae).
Fragmenta entomologica, Roma 45 (1-2): 143-171, 2013.
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[✳]
Pic M.:
Opuscula martialis II
L'Echange, Revue Linnéenne, Numéro spécial 2: 1-16, 1941
