Ferrantia, Volume 79: Atlas of the Insects of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg: Coleoptera, Cerambycidae

About this book

Language: English with bilingual abstract in English and German

This book is the result of a multidisciplinary doctoral project focused on the Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) of Luxembourg. The larvae of this family act as primary decomposers of dead, senescent or living trees and building woods. They are considered as high bio-indicators for the state of forest health, biodiversity and wildlife ecosystems or having a great economical importance. Nonetheless, the knowledge of this group in Luxembourg was still at an early stage. The study of the existing collections and a triennial field research throughout the country has allowed updating the species list of the Luxembourgish Cerambycids: 21 species were overall recorded as new and 4 species as erroneously recorded, so that 96 species can be considered as constituting the local cerambycofauna. For each species, a data sheet including identifying characteristics, updated distributions in Luxembourg, neighbouring regions and Eurasia, local conservation status and biological data (larval and imaginal biology, known host species, parasites, predators) is provided for scientific dissemination.

The analysis of the cerambycid biodiversity in time has evidenced that eight local species should be considered as extinct, five as "assumed extinct" and 17 as "threatened". Moreover, the local cerambycofauna was compared to those of the neighbouring regions with the double objective of identifying biogeographical affinities between Luxembourg and the neighbouring regions and identifying common faunistic tendencies.

The comparative study of the changes observed over time in the Cerambycids of the neighbouring regions, in other Luxembourgish insects, in climate and vegetation has allowed tracing the causes of arrival, regression and extinction of some local species, as well their phenological changes.

In addition, some taxonomic changes were introduced: Stenopterus rufus rufus (Linnaeus, 1767) = Stenopterus rufus ab. geniculatus Kraatz, 1863 rest. status; Chlorophorus glabromaculatus webbii (Brullé, 1839) n. comb.; Grammoptera ruficornis ruficornis (Fabricius, 1781) = Leptura pallipes Stephens, 1831 = Grammoptera ruficornis var. flavipes Pic, 1892 rest. status; Leptura maculata Poda, 1761 = Strangalia armata var. nigricornis Stierlin, 1864 rest. status; Stenurella melanura (Linnaeus, 1758) = Stenurella sennii Sama, 2002 n. syn.

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