Xylotrechus alakolensis has been described from East Kazakhstan according one captured male by Lech Karpiński and Wojciech Szczepański in 2018 [✧].
X. alakolensis was assigned in the subgenus Kostiniclytus, a distinct group of very rare desert Xylotrechus species which larvae develop in the roots of
Chenopodiaceae [❖]. Majority of this subgenus taxa is distributed in Kazakhstan but a single species has also been found in Mongolia (X. medvedevi) and
Turkey (X. volkovitshi).
The holotype was collected in a steppe habitat with a very rich plant community (roadside vegetation) using the sweep-netting method, and therefore the exact host plant
cannot be determined for certain. As for the other representatives of the Kostiniclytus subgenus, the new species is probably related to Chenopodiaceae
(= Amaranthaceae). It is possible, however, that the larvae of this beetle may also develop in the roots and stems of other plant families (e.g. Asteraceae) since the
specimens of the genus Artemisia were very numerous on the plot and appeared to be one of the most suitable hosts [Excerpted from ✧].
| Body length: | 12 mm |
| Life cycle: | 2 years [?] |
| Adults in: | June |
| Host plant: | unknown |
| Distribution: | an endemic species to Kazakhstan |
The depicted holotype male beetle was collected 15 km NW of Taskesken (Таскескен];) village (N47°18′, E80°36′; 627 m a.s.l., East Kazakhstan region, Kazakhstan).
[✧]
Karpiński L., Szczepański W.T., Plewa R., Walczak M., Hilszczański J., Kruszelnicki L., Łoś K., Jaworski T., Bidas M. & Tarwacki G.:
New data on the distribution, biology and ecology of the longhorn beetles from the area of South and East Kazakhstan (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae).
ZooKeys 805: 59-126, 2018
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[❖]
Danilevsky M.L.:
Xylotrechus (Kostiniclytus subgen. n.) medvedevi sp. n. (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from Mongolia.
Special Bulletin of the Japanese Society of Coleopterology, Tokyo 7: 211-219, 2009.
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