Subject: Beetle identification
Location: Lesbos
October 5, 2016 10:39 am
I found this beetle in Lesbos in May 2014 but have been unable to identify it on the internet.
I hope to include it in one of my talks and would much appreciate if you could identify it for me,
Many thanks,
Signature: Wiliam Smiton
Dear Wiliam,
This is a Longicorn in the family Cerambycidae, and we wish you had a more detailed image. We started searching for what we though was going to be an easy identification because that white “racing stripe” adorning your Beetle’s back is so distinctive. Our first clue came on the New World Cerambycidae Catalog where we found Dorcadion regulare pictured, but it has red legs, unlike your individual. We then found members of the subgenus Cribridorcadion pictured on the Cerambycidae of the World page, and several members of the subgenus look very similar. Back on the New World Cerambycidae Catalog site, we found Dorcadion ariannae pictured, and it is the closest visual match, in our opinion. Islands frequently have species and subspecies endemic to the island that are different from close relatives on the mainland. We did find some mounted specimens in the genus available on eBay where it notes: “Dorcadion ariannae (Greece) – RARE” but alas, there is no image of the species, while images of relatives are pictured.
Daniel,
Many thanks for the information.
This one seems quite a challenge!
I have reprocessed the image and added another in the hope they will give you more information,
Your help is much appreciated,
Regards,
William Smiton
Dear William,
Thanks for sending a higher resolution image. Our identification has not changed.
Hello,
for sure it is not Dorcadion ariannae, it lives near Xanthi on the mainland.
If this beetle is around 20mm legth, it will be Maculatodorcadion quadrimaculatum ssp. nodicorne.
Regads
Tomas
Thanks for the correction. We located an image of Maculatodorcadion quadrimaculatum from Lesbos on Galerie Insecte.