''Stictoleptura rubra'', the red-brown longhorn beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers), are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by anten ...

Subspecies

Two subspecies are sometimes recognised: * ''Stictoleptura rubra rubra'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (=

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

) * ''Stictoleptura rubra numidica'' (Peyerhimoff, 1917) Two former subspecies, namely ''Stictoleptura rubra dichroa'' (Blanchard, 1871) and ''Stictoleptura rubra succedanea'' (Lewis, 1873) are often treated as synonyms under '' Stictoleptura dichroa'' (Blanchard, 1871) in recent works.

Description

''Stictoleptura rubra'' can reach a length of . Cerambyx
/ref> This species has an evident

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

, with variations in color and shape. Elytrae and pronotum of the females are uniformly reddish-brown or reddish-orange, while in males head and pronotum are black. Moreover the males have brown or pale ochre elytrae and often they are smaller and narrower than the females.

Biology

Life cycle of this species lasts two - three years. Adults can be encountered from May to September, but mainly in July and August). They visit flowering plants for nectar and/or pollen, while larvae develop and feed within dead wood and tree stumps of coniferous trees (

Picea A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

Abies Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

Larix Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere, where they are found in lowland forests in the high la ...

). To develop and reach maturity they need nutrients provided by fungi. Their gut contains

cellulase Cellulase (; systematic name 4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase) is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharides: : Endo ...

-producing

yeasts Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitu ...

to enable xylophagy, or wood-digestion.

Distribution

The species is found throughout the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an mainland,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

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 ...

. It can also be found in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

.Vitali F.
Cerambycoidea
/ref>

Gallery

File:Stictoleptura rubra couple mating Richard Bartz.jpg, Mating couple File:Cerambycidae - Stictoleptura rubra (female) .JPG, Female, take-off File:Stictoleptura rubra.ogv, Video clip File:Stictoleptura rubra.webm, thumbtime=2, Apparently when this Stictoleptura rubra beetle emerged from its pupa, its wings didn’t fully expand before they hardened, making flight impossible File:RedBrownLonghornKorea.jpg, Female specimen on a flower bush.

References

rubra Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Beetles of Asia Beetles of Europe Articles containing video clips {{Lepturinae-stub