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BIOLOGICA NYSSANA  2 (2)  December 2011: 129-130 Đrđević A., Đurić M.  Blepisanis vittipennis (Reiche 1877) (Coleoptera:… 
 

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Short Communication 

!

Blepisanis vittipennis (Reiche 1877) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), 
a new longhorn beetle for Serbia  
 

Aca Đurđević1, Milan Đurić2 

 
1University of Niš, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Biology and Ecology, 
Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia 
2HabiProt, Belgrade, Serbia 
 
* E-mail: djukiamphibia@gmail.com 

 
 
Abstract:  
Đurđević, A., Đurić, M.: Blepisanis vittipennis (Reiche 1877) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), a new 
longhorn beetle for Serbia, Biologica Nyssana, 2 (2), December 2011: 129-130. 
 
A longhorn beetle species, Blepisanis vittipennis, known so far in Europe but only from Greece and Bulgaria, 
was recorded for the first time in the fauna of Serbia, increasing number of recorded longhorn beetle species 
to 238. 
 
Key words: Blepisanis vittipennis, Cerambycidae, Preševo, Serbia.  

 
 

Blepisanis vittipennis (R e i c h e ,  1877) is 
one of two representatives of the genus Blepisanis in 
Europe. The other species, B. melanocephala 
(F a b r i c i u s ,  1787) inhabits only island of Sicily, 
while B. vittipennis is distributed in SE Balkan 
peninsula, Caucasus, Turkey and Near East 
(H o s k o v e c  & R e j z e k , 1991-2011). In the 
Balkan Peninsula, the species is reported as 
common in continental Greece and Bulgaria 
(S a m a , 2002), as well as in the Near East - Turkey 
(Ö z d i k m e n  & T u r g u t , 2008). 

As a part of first systematic entomological 
research in Serbia, on June 4 2011, a group of 
researchers visited poorly investigated region in 
southeast of Serbia, Miratovac village in vicinity of 
Preševo. The most interesting habitats were found to 
the east of the village, at an altitude of 551 m, 
situated at 42°16΄20˝ N, 21°39΄1.6˝ E. The location 
is an area with a strong submediterranean influence, 
probably felt more than anywhere else in Serbia. 
The biotope comprises mostly of fragmented 
Quercus pubescens forest and dry, rocky pastures, 
despite the fact that wider area is predominantly 
used for crop planting. 

During that survey, one specimen of 
Blepisanis vittipennis was found on Dianthus sp. 
The series of photographs was taken, but since 
authors did not recognize species and significance of 
the finding, specimen was not collected for further 
analysis (Fig. 1). Good photographs enabled Dr. 
Nastas Ilić to determine species and emphasize 
importance of this finding. 

First systematic review of longhorn beetles in 
Serbia (I l i ć , 2005) listed a total of 245 taxa of this 
family, but some were marked with a question mark 
due to unreliable findings, some listed as species at 
the time were given status of subspecies. Therefore, 
having in mind the most widely used taxonomy 
(Fauna Europaea, 2011), list of longhorn beetles 
recorded in Serbia comprised 237 species (HabiProt, 
2005-2011), and with this finding comes up to 238.  

The finding of Blepisanis vittipennis in Serbia 
is significant because it increases the species areal 
towards the west, and vicinity of the location to 
Macedonia implies that presence of the species in 
that country is probable. 

2 (2) • December 2011: 129-130 



BIOLOGICA NYSSANA  2 (2)  December 2011: 129-130 Đrđević A., Đurić M.  Blepisanis vittipennis (Reiche 1877) (Coleoptera:… 
 

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Figure 1. Blepisanis vittipennis near Miratovac village. Photo: Milan Đurić 

 
Acknowledgements. The authors want to express their 
gratitude to Dr. Nastas Ilić for unselfish support and 
sharing of his immense knowledge on longhorn beetles, 
and to Bojan Zlatković for plant determination, and also, 
to Miloš Popović and Ivan Simonović for their relentless 
support during field surveys. 
 
References 
 
Fauna Europaea, 2011. Group coordinator Audisio, P. 

Fauna Europaea version 2.4, web service available 
online at http://www.faunaeur.org 

HabiProt, 2005-2011: Alciphron – a database on insects 
of Serbia. HabiProt. Belgrade. 

Hoskovec, M. & Rejzek, M. 1999-2011. Cerambycidae, 
web service available online at 
http://www.cerambyx.uochb.cz/ 

Ilić, N. 2005. Strižibube Srbije (COLEOPTERA; 
Cerambycidae) Faunistički pregled, Autorsko izdanje, 
Beograd, 180pp. 

Özdikmen, H. and Turgut, S. 2008. New species and a 
new subspecies of the subgenus Phytoecia 
(blepisanis) pascoe, 1866 from Turkey (Coleoptera: 
Cerambycidae: Lamiinae). Mun. Ent. Zool. (3) 2: 
568-581. 

Sama, G.., 2002. Atlas of the Cerambycidae of Europe 
and the Mediterranean Area Vol. 1, Nakladatelství 
Kabourek, Zlín (Czech Republic), 173 pp.