Liocleonus clathratus is a species of cylindrical weevils belonging to the family

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. Th ...

Description

''Liocleonus clathratus'' can reach a length of about . The body is elongated and the basic coloration is white, with longitudinal black markings on the pronotum and elytrae. These weevils are considered a serious pest. They attacks several

Tamarix The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...

species, especially ''

Tamarix ramosissima ''Tamarix ramosissima'', commonly known as saltcedar salt cedar, or tamarisk, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers. The cultivar 'Pink Cascade' (dark pink flowered) ...

'', ''

Tamarix parviflora ''Tamarix parviflora'' is a species of tamarisk known by the common name smallflower tamarisk. It is native to south-eastern Europe (Albania, East Aegean Islands, Greece, Crete and the former Yugoslavia) and to Turkey. It has been introduced els ...

'' and ''

Tamarix gallica ''Tamarix gallica'', also known as the French tamarisk, is a deciduous, herbaceous, twiggy shrub or small tree reaching up to about 5 meters high. It is indigenous to Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula, and very common around the Mediterranea ...

''. Larvae develop in huge galls on the roots and at the base of young rods of the host plants. These gall-maker weevils can be found mainly in April.

Distribution

This species is widespread in the eastern

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

, and in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

References

Biolib

Fauna Europaea

Advances in Holocene Palaeoecology in Bulgaria

University of Delaware
Lixinae Beetles described in 1807 {{Curculionidae-stub