Feeding preferences of the Turkish members of tribe Hesperophanini Mulsant (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) with new host plants

Abstract : The detection of cerambycids and their feeding preferences within the natural ecosystems is of great ecological and economic importance. Accordingly, the paper presents all taxa of Turkish Hesperophanini with new data on their feeding preferences and distribution patterns for the first time. The available specimens were collected from various localities in Turkey between April and September in 1989¬-2021. It is determined that Turkish Hesperophanini includes fourteen species of three genera. New host plants (ten species of nine families) of Trichoferus sbordonii Sama of which host plants were never known previously, are determined for the first time and also, it is reported and confirmed for the first time after 41 years from its original description. Consequently, there is no Turkish Hesperophanini species whose host plant is unknown currently. In addition, the host range of six species is expanded by determining some new hosts for them. Moreover, some plant taxa are given as the firstly detected host plants in Turkey for related four species. According to the present study, most species are found polyphagous and they are strongly preferred deciduous trees. A half of species also feed with coniferous trees. Four species seem monophagous. Among deciduous trees, the members of Moraceae with ten longicorn species is found the most preferred plant family as host, followed by Fagaceae with nine species. Similarly, among coniferous trees, Pinaceae with six longicorn species is found the most preferred plant family, followed by Cupressaceae with three species. On the other side, the known data on the distribution of some species in Turkey has been improved with new provincial and regional records.
Keyword : Host plants, feeding preferences, distribution, Hesperophanini, Turkey
Author(s) : Özdikmen, H.
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Published Issue : 2023 Vol. 18 Supplement


2023 Vol. 18 Supplement