Agapanthia cardui

Agapanthia cardui
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Cerambycidae
Genus:	Agapanthia
Species:	A. cardui
Binomial name
	Agapanthia cardui; (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
	Agapanthia cardui pannonica (Kratochvíl Gutowski, 1992) ; Agapanthia cardui grossa (Pic, 1891) ; Agapanthia cardui subacutalis (Chevrolat, 1882) ; Agapanthia cardui velox (Gistel, 1857) ; Cerambyx cardui (Linnaeus, 1767) ; Eucrius cardui (Linnaeus, Gistel, 1856) ; Saperda annulata (Fabricius, Gistel, 1792) ; Saperda cardui (Linnaeus, Fabricius, 1787) ; Saperda coerulescens (Petagna, Gistel, 1787) ;

Agapanthia cardui is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetle belonging to the family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lamiinae.

Description

Agapanthia cardui adults grow up to 6–14 millimetres (0.24–0.55 in) and can be encountered from April through July, completing their life cycle in one year.

A. cardui – lateral view

Subspecies

Several subspecies of A. cardui are recorded in the entomological literature:

Agapanthia cardui consobrina Chevrolat, 1840
Agapanthia cardui marginalis (Mulsant), 1839
Agapanthia cardui nigroaenea (Mulsant), 1839
Agapanthia cardui peragalloi (Mulsant), 1862
Agapanthia cardui ruficornis (Pic) Pesarini & Sabbadini, 2004

Distribution

This beetle is present in most of Europe, in the Near East, and in the eastern Palearctic realm. In 2010, it was listed as occurring in 24 European countries.^[1] It has since expanded into the UK; the first specimens were recorded from East Kent in May 2018.^[2]

Diet and habitat

Agapanthia cardui are polyphagous in herbaceous plants, mainly feeding on Carduus nutans (hence the specific name) and Silybum marianum, as well as on Salvia, Urtica and Cirsium species.

References

^ Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2010). Catalogue of Palearctic Coleoptera (Volume 6: Chrysomeloidea). Apollo Books. p. 924.
^ Chmurova, L.; Mendel, H.; Potts, K.; Barclay, M. V. L. (2018). "Agapanthia cardui (Linnaeus, 1767) (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) in Britain, well established in East Kent (VC 15)". The Coleopterist. 27 (3): 109–113.

External links

[1] Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2010). Catalogue of Palearctic Coleoptera (Volume 6: Chrysomeloidea). Apollo Books. p. 924.

[2] Chmurova, L.; Mendel, H.; Potts, K.; Barclay, M. V. L. (2018). "Agapanthia cardui (Linnaeus, 1767) (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) in Britain, well established in East Kent (VC 15)". The Coleopterist. 27 (3): 109–113.

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