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

Agapanthia cardui
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae
Genus: Agapanthia
Species:
A. cardui
Binomial name
Agapanthia cardui
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)

Description

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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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