Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 32-34. (2014)
Zoology
Petru-Vasile ISTRATE Besides, the body of Ergates faber is more rounded, the head is larger and the more polished appearance of the dorsal surface of the Callergates gaillardoti is missing. The larvae of both species develop in the dead wood of pine-trees. In Anatolia and northwestern Syria, where both species overlap in the area, the insects occupy the same habitat. They are present in the high-altitude pine forests. In Lebanon, it“was reported in Beharre in northern Lebanon, in the forests of Pinus brutia, at 1225 m, in Turkey, in the Nurdaglari Mountains, near Dorytöl, in forests of Pinus brutia, at 950 m, in NW Syria, the Kassab area, near Latakia, in Pinus halep ensis forests and in Cyprus, in Stavros tis Psokas, in forests of Pinus brutia, at about 1000 m altitude. Materials and methods The collection of entomological material was performed between 15 and 24 April 2011 in the southern part of the island, which is now part of the Republic of Cyprus. The vegetation and the fauna of the island are rich and the anthropic influences are less felt here than in the other Mediterranean islands. The Troodos Mountains are covered with pine forests, of which Pinus brutia is the most impressive, the trunk of the old trees being more than 1.4 m in diameter, being propitious to the development of large beetle insects (coleopteran). This conifer is found up to 1200 m, and even up to 1500 m high, on the sunny slopes. Other conifers may be met, too, such as the Aleppo pine, Pinus halepensis, at low altitudes, the Cyprus cedar, Cedrus brevifolia, endemic to the island, which occupies small areas at 1100—1200 m, in the cedar valley. The juniper, Juniperus foetiditssima and the black pine, Pinus nigra are found higher up than 1200 m. Among deciduous trees (hardwood), the golden oak Quercus alnifolia, an endemic small tree, is met more frequently, while the massive Aleppo oak, Quercus infectoria, is a species of low altitude, now very much endangered. The strawberry tree, Arbutus andrachne is an unusual presence because of its crimson colored crust. Many shrubs such as the myrtle and the laurel, alongside the impressive sycamore, Platanus orientalis, rather grow in the wetter valleys. Several areas of natural forests of Pinus brutia (Fig. 1) were identified, located in the western part of the Troodos Mountains, at altitudes of 800—1200 m, where large specimens were very frequent. Stavros tis Psokas, a forest resort with a camping made of spacious houses, is a landmark located about 5-6 km south of where the larvae were found. The stumps containing Callergates gaillardoti larvae were recognized due to the oval shaped insect emergence galleries. A number of 8 larvae in various development stages were only found in one stump (Fig. 2), about 1000 m above the sea level. The 1st stage larvae were found between the bark and the wood and the 2nd and 3rd stage larvae — within the wood (Fig. 3). Numerous larvae tunnels were observed, as well as a dead male specimen, which we found in the pupal chamber. During the collection of larvae, in a stump about 80 cm in diameter, buprestidae (jewell beetle) and a 15 cm long scolopendra were found. Larvae were temporarily kept in two containers of 2 liters each, containing rotten bark peeled of the trunk, and they were brought to Romania, where we surveyed their development. For this we used two plastic containers 29 cm long, 29 cm broad and 32 cm high, into which were drilled several 0.8 cm ventilation holes, including into the cover. The forest pine stumps logs we used resulted from trunks fallen to the ground. Both stumps were rotten to a certain extent, while the center, the core of the wood was unaffected. The two stumps were 23 cm in diameter and the 28 cm high. Each of them was placed on a bed of fine wet sawdust. Several holes were made in each stump, in which the larvae were introduced together with an amount of wood from their natural habitat. We surveyed the developing of larvae which occurred while excavating large quantities of sawdust in order to dig their galleries. 140
