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ISRAEL JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Vol. 46, pp. 133– 135 (28 December 2016)
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Pyrrhidium sanguineum (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera:
Cerambycidae), a newly introduced saproxylic beetle in Israel
Oz Ri t t n e R
The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Israel National Center for Biodiversity Studies and
Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 6997801 Israel.
E-mail: israelbutteries@gmail.com
Welsh Oak Longhorn Beetle —Pyrrhidium sanguineum (Linnaeus, 1758) —is a
small to medium size (6–16 mm) saproxylic coleopteran species, which is charac-
te rized by a spectacular purple or sometimes yellow-orange colour of the pronotum
and elytra (Figs 1, 2). Pyrrhidium sanguineum is distributed in Europe (Albania,
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Re-
public, Denmark, Estonia, European Russia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Ger-
many, Greece (incl. Crete), Hungary, Ireland, Italy (incl. Sardinia and Sicily), Lat-
via, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro,
The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Fig. 1. Pyrrhidium sanguineum female on bark.
http://www.entomology.org.il/publications; ISSN (online) 2224-6304
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E5EBB08B-81A9-4E9B-AE96-B71FADD0BFD4
134 ISRAEL JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, VOL. 46, 2016
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine), North Africa (Egypt, Tunisia), and West
Asia (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Syria, Turkey) (Sama & Löbl 2010).
It occurs in broad-leaved forests with oak as a preferred host, but can also feed
on Castanea, Fagus, Carpinus, Ulmus and Pyrus malus (Bílý & Mehl 1989), as
well as on Aesculus, Betula, Cerasus, Corylus, Prunus and very occasionally Pinus
(Starzyk 1999).
Fig. 2. Pyrrhidium sanguineum female, habitus, dorsal view. Body length, 16 mm.
RITTNER: PYRRHIDIUM SANGUINEUM IN ISRAEL 135
In Europe, adults are active around April and May. Eggs are laid in dead de cay-
ing (also standing) trees, as well as in crevices of recently dry bark and cut bran-
ches. Since the larvae attack dry or rotten wood, they are not a threat to living trees.
The larvae also do not pose danger to structural wood or furniture in which the
wood is too dry and solid. In order to prevent further infestation in cases of adult
emergence the bark should be removed to prevent oviposition (Duffy 1953).
In Israel, P. sanguineum specimens were collected from oak timber imported
from Ukraine. The timber, which had been imported for heating, was sold in the
Upper Galilee area to many households, where adult beetles appeared later on
in large numbers. Several specimens were collected by Miriam Melnik-Perlin in
Kefar Veradim on the 17th of December 2016 and kindly passed on to me for
identication.
The bark was considered fumigated by the exporter company, and this might be
the cause of the timber getting through without examination by the Plant Protection
and Inspection Services, which operate within the framework of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel.
It is more than probable that adults already reached nearby oak forests, which
are common in the Galilee. It will be necessary to track adults of this species in the
area and to monitor its spread if such event occurs.
REFERENCES
Bí l ý , S. & Me h l , O. 1989. Longhorn beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) of Fennoscandia and Den-
mark. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica 22: 1–203.
Du f f y , E.A.J. 1953. A monograph of the immature stages of British and imported timber beetles (Ce-
rambycidae). British Museum (Natural History), London. 350 p.
Sa M a , G. & lö B l , I. 2010. Cerambycidae (others). In: Löbl, I. & Smetana, A. (Eds.), Catalogue of
Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 6, Chrysomeloidea. Apollo Books, Stenstrup, 924 pp.
St a R z y k , J.R. 1999. Rola kózkowatych (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) w ekosystemach leśnych oraz ich
znaczenie gospodarcze. Sylwan 143 (11): 5–22. [in Polish, with English abstract].
