[= Xylotrechus rectangulus Pic, 1902]
Subfamilia: CERAMBYCINAE / Tribus: CLYTINI
[Photo © Adam Woźniak]
Xylotrechus (Xylotrechus) ibex, a beautiful species of Eurasian forest belt not common in Central Europe, has been described from Altai Mts. (Russia) as Clytus ibex by Friedrich August Gebler in 1825 [✳]. The taxonomic status of this outstanding species was unclear for quite a long time, but was finally clarified in a brilliant paper by Ralf Wolfgang Hass and Andreas Pütz in 2024 [✮]. The authors reveal that the Eurasian population of X. ibex is actually composed of two distinct species, significantly differing in their morphology, bionomy and present distribution. As a result, Xylotrechus rectangulus (Motschulsky, 1875), which specimens have been misidentified for decades as the eastern population of X. ibex, was revalidated.
Recent studies show that this taxon is ecologically associated with black alder (Alnus glutinosa) [❖]. Beetles are found in forests with a large share of alder, but also in other habitats, for example in riverside and roadside tree stands. Development takes place mainly in the trunks of thick trees. They occur on living trees - sometimes they develop in them for many generations for many years, as well as in dying and recently withered trees. The larvae feed mainly in the thick bark, less often under the bark and shallowly in the wood. The development cycle is one or two years. Adults have a relatively long period of appearance - from mid June to mid August. The swarm takes place in sunny, hot weather. The species excels in variable coloration, the elytrae toment pattern can be both white and yellow, especially in males.
Most likely, in Central Europe, this interesting species is much more common than it seems. Until the end of the 20th century, in Germany and Poland it was considered a great rarity. Nowadays, when its biology and ecological requirements are better known, Xylotrechus ibex is found more and more often in new places in various parts of the country. More about biology of this remarkable beetle you can find in the dedicated page.
Body length: 6 - 24 mm Life cycle: 1 - 2 years Adults in: June - August Host plant: black alder (Alnus glutinosa) Distribution: Germany, Poland, Finland, Belarus, Russia (to Western Siberia), Ukraine, Kazachstan
Depicted mounted beetles were reared from dead alder (Alnus glutinosa) found in Las Bielański (Warszawa, Masovian voivodeship, Poland) in 2017. The living specimens were: (AW) - reared from pupa (♀) / larva (♂) found in the same locality in years 2017 and 2020, respectively. The couple in copula was collected near Płock (Masovian voivodeship, Poland) in August 2020.Collected by our friends Adam Woźniak and Marcin Szewczyk
[✳]
Gebler F.A.:
IV. Coleopterorum Sibiriae Species Novae.
Essais Entomologiques 4: 42-57, 1825. [download]
[✮]
Hass R.W. & Pütz A.:
Über Xylotrechus ibex (Gebler, 1825) und seinem Artenkomplex mit Anmerkungen zur Verbreitung und Lebensweise der Art (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae).
Entomologische Nachrichten und Berichte 68 (2): 11-16, 2024. [download[❖]
Tatur-Dytkowski J., Górski P., Stepień S.:
Nowe dane o interesujących kózkowatych Warszawy (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).
[New data on interesting longhorn beetles of Warsaw (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).]
Wiadomości Entomologiczne 39 (1): 11-16, 2020. [download
[Photo © Marcin Szewczyk]
[Photo © Marcin Szewczyk]
[Photo © Adam Woźniak]
| Subfamilia | Cerambycinae Latreille, 1802 |
| Tribus | Clytini Mulsant, 1839 |
| Genus | Xylotrechus Chevrolat, 1860 |
| Subgenus | Xylotrechus Chevrolat, 1860 |
| Species | Xylotrechus (Xylotrechus) ibex (Gebler, 1825) |