Pests
Agapanthia dahli (Richt.). - Long-horned Beetle, Sunflower Long-horned Beetle.
Systematic position.
Class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Cerambycidae, genus Agapanthia Serville.Synonyms.
A. nigricornis Fabricius, A. lineatocollis Mulsant, A. gyllenhali Ganglbauer.Biological group.
Pest of sunflower.Morphology and biology.
Body length, 9.5-20 mm. Antennae 12-segmented; 1st and 2nd segments black, the others yellowish or yellow-reddish in basal part and black in apical part. Inner side of the 3rd, 4th and sometimes 5th segments with black hairbrushes. Antennae 1.5 times as long as body in male, 1.15-1.25 times in female. Pronotum densely punctured, distinctly widened behind middle, with 3 yellowish longitudinal bands. Scutellum transverse. Elytra moderately narrowed toward apex, 3 times as long as wide. Body pubescence with unclear pattern and with rusty erected hairs. Body ventrum with dense yellowish pubescence, without glabrous spots on the abdomen. Larva apodal, long and narrow; its thoracic segments somewhat broader than head; head dark yellow or almost black.Distribution.
Europe, Turkey, Near East, Northern Iran, Mongolia. In the former USSR, the species inhabits the European part northward to Chernihiv, Tula, Kazan, Kirov and Perm, whole Caucasus, southern Siberia eastward to Baikal, Middle Asia, and Kazakhstan.Ecology.
The species inhabits meadow and steppe stations, developing in stems of Carduus sp., Cirsium sp., Ferula sp., Helianthus sp., Heracleum sp. Adults are active in day time, occurring from May to July. Female gnaws stem of a host plant at a height up to 90 cm and lays eggs into cavity, one by one. Fertility is about 50 eggs. Larva gnaws gallery inside stem, moving down. It forms a cradle before hibernation inside the stem at a height 8 to 80 cm, preliminarily cutting the stem on the inside above its cradle. Some authors noted the cradle inside the root system under the ground. Some larvae pupate in the following spring, in May-June, the other ones hibernate twice. Generation development lasts 1-2 years.Economic significance.
The beetle damages in larval stage mainly. The highest damage occurs in steppe zone of the southeastern European part of Russia. The damage is higher in sunflower crops of later sowing time. After the pest damage, sunflower stems are often cracked; seed yield and seed-oil content decrease. Control measures include removal of sunflower stems from fields after harvesting and deep autumn plowing. A. helianthi Plav. also damages sunflower in the North Caucasus and in seaside territories around the Azov Sea.Reference citations:
Cherepanov A.I. 1984. Capricorn beetles of Northern Asia (Lamiinae: Pterycoptini . Agapanthiini). Novosibirsk: Nauka, 214 p. (in Russian).Danilevskii M.L. & Miroshnikov A.I. 1985. Capricorn beetles of the Caucasus (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Keys. Krasnodar: KSKHI, 419 p. (in Russian).
Kostin I.A. 1978. Capricorn beetles of the genus Agapanthia Serv. (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) from Kazakhstan. An attempt of revised classification. Entomol. oбoзpenie 57 (3): 596-605 (in Russian).
Megalov A.A. 1933. Significance of Agapanthia dahli (Richt.) in sunflower crops and control measures. Socialistic grain growing, Saratov 5-6: 74-80 (in Russian).
Plavil'schikov N.N. 1968. Review of the genus Agapanthia Serv. (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) of the USSR fauna. In: Zhelokhovtsev A.N. & Zimina L.V., eds. Collection of works of Zool. Museum of MGU. V. 11. Moscow: MGU, p. 113-168 (in Russian).
Samedov N.G. 1963. Fauna and biology of the beetles injuring agricultural plants in Azerbaijan. Baku: AN Azerb.SSR, 384 p. (in Russian).