Forum Entomologi Italiani

It is possible to ID this Agrilus? I can provide more pictures if needed. Unfortunately no idea about host plant

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alexandrupintilioaie(AT)gmail.com

Alexandru,
it will be because the photos always put me in crisis (plus yours are beautiful), but I can not determine the specimen. Sorry. I would have to see it under binocular to get some idea.
Anyway it is very interesting.
gian

Hi there, in my opinion it's very likely a male of Agrilus cuprescens

Bests

Thank you guys a lot for your help ... I hope next year I will be able to collect more specimens and to ID them properly. Meanwhile I will add here this picture with a lateral view of the beetle, maybe it will help

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alexandrupintilioaie(AT)gmail.com

The adedeagus of Agrilus cuprescens differs significantly. I also thought it is A. macroderus, but it should have the vertex prominant dorsal, over the pronotum, like all hyperici group.

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Ciao
Adrian

Hi there, I just wrote "...most likely...".

A couple of things: the median lobe, "aka" penis, slides through the parameres, as you know.

Therefore, the "aedeagus" may look very different, following the sliding degree.

Moreover, this specimen's pronotal shape and outline doesn't fit so well with that of A. cuprescens, that's just a preliminary choice. Just a starting step.

In my opinion, there's an unsolved trouble involving A. cuprescens and A. calcicola, The latter synonimized with cuprescens.

Well, a short series of Agrilus of this group from Peloponnese in my collection are very much resembling the specimen here depicted, and I've named it (lacking better solutions) as "Agrilus calcicola cfr."

That's all folks, I stop here for the meanwhile. A.

This is a good observation. Unfortunately I have not any specimen of A. calcicola to compare with.

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Ciao
Adrian

Hi Adrian,

after poking around a little bit I've found that Schaefer, in his Faune de France (that was published in 1950, and not in 1949 as currently quoted), briefly named an "ab. obtusifera" referred to Agrilus aurichalceus Redt. from "Caucasus, Hungary, Greece, France" like this: Cotés du pronotum subrectilignes

Best regards, Clickie

Here I have an image from Agrilus cuprescens, collected from just some tens of kilometers from the location Alexandru collected his specimen. I have serious doubts, of coexisting 2 subspecies in such a small geographic region. I don't have something to say about "aberrations". Needs a series of specimens. But in other regions where I collected A. cuprescens, I did not see "aberrations" with straight pronotum margins. Lot of old "aberrations" proved to be subspecies or even good species later. More specimens collected from the same area and the same host plant would make a better idea. I do not argue to what you mentioned above. I just want to clarify.

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Ciao
Adrian

Guys, I can send the specimen if someone is interested to study it directly, just let me know

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alexandrupintilioaie(AT)gmail.com

I am interested. Please, write to me with private message for the contact.
gian

The specimen was ID-ed as Agrilus macroderus by Gianfranco Curletti

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alexandrupintilioaie(AT)gmail.com