Subfamilia: LAMIINAE / Tribus: AGAPANTHIINI
[Photo © David Navrátil]
This common, but massive and striking Agapanthia species with a large area of occurrence ranging from Iran to South-West Europe is exclusively connected with mulleins (Verbascum spp.), which are its only known host plants. Turkish authors reported recently several Asteraceae species as a Agapanthia kirbyi host plant [❖], but from pictures is clearly visible that observed beetles belong to the different Agapanthia species, probably from A. dahli group. Interesting is also a different look of Iranian and standard European populations of this taxon...
Body length: 14 - 28 mm Life cycle: 1 year Adults in: May - June Host plant: mulleins (Verbascum spp.) Distribution: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, South and SE Europe, Caucasus, Turkey, Russia, Slovakia, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine
The mounted specimens were captured the host plants in Sykourio (Συκούριο) environs (370 m a.s.l., Mt. Ossa, Thessalia, Larissa province, Greece) on May 26-27, 2011 and in Likbin environs (1630-2125 m a.s.l., Āzarbāyjān-e Gharbī province, Iran) on May 28-29, 2017, respectively. The depicted living beetles were collected on the host plant, mullein (Verbascum densiflorum), in Khndzoresk (Խնձորեսկ; 1290 m, Syunik province, SE Armenia).Collected by David Navrátil and M.Hoskovec
[❖]
Miroğlu M.S., Ateş E., Çikman E., Özgen I.:
Agapanthia kirbyi (Gyllenhal, 1817) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) For New Hosts.
Proceedings from the conference: IGAC-2019, 1st International Göbeklitepe Agriculture Congress, Harran University Turkey 462-465, 2019. [download]
[Photo © M.Hoskovec]
Subfamilia: Lamiinae Latreille, 1825
Tribus: Agapanthiini Mulsant, 1839
Genus: Agapanthia Audinet-Serville, 1835
Subgenus: Synthapsia Pesarini et Sabbadini, 2004
Species: Agapanthia (Synthapsia) kirbyi (Gyllenhal, 1817)