Big poplar buck
| Big poplar buck | ||||||||||||
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Big Poplar Bock ( Saperda carcharias ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Saperda carcharias | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Great Pappelbock ( Saperda carcharias ) or roller block is a beetle from the family of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae).
description
Large poplar goats become 20 to 23 millimeters long. The chitin armor is colored black, but due to the very dense hair, the beetle appears overall yellow-gray. Unevenness on the wing-coverts allow small black dots to protrude from the hair. On the back half of the wing-coverts there is a broad horizontal stripe in the hair, which is lighter than the rest of the body. The outline of the body is elongated, with the anterior approaches of the elytra broader than the thorax . Towards the rear end, the wing covers become significantly narrower. The thread-like antennae are very long, in the male even longer than the body. Both the antennae and the rather strong legs are alternately colored gray and light brown.
Occurrence
The animals are widespread in Central Europe , especially in the plain. They inhabit different habitats, but poplars are mandatory.
Way of life
The diurnal animals usually sit on the leaves or trunks of trees during the day. After sunset they swarm around the crown area of their trees. Their diet consists of leaves of poplar and willow . By rubbing their hind legs and wing covers together, the beetles are able to make chirping noises.
In autumn, the female lays eggs in the wood of young trees. It gnaws transverse furrows in the bark at the base of the tree, in each of which a single egg is laid. In the following spring the larva hatches , which can reach a length of four centimeters.
It feeds on the wood. In doing so, it penetrates deep into the wood and drills 15 to 25 centimeters long passages. The infestation can be seen from the wood chips, which are pushed out through an opening. If the tree is felled, the drill holes can be seen in the wood. After two years, the larva pupates under the bark. A few weeks later, the finished beetle hatches.
literature
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung, Jarmila Hoberlandtova, Ivan Zpevak: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe . Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
- Adolf Horion : Faunistics of the Central European Beetles, Volume XII: Cerambycidae - Longhorn Beetles . Ueberlingen, 1974
