Rutpela maculata, the spotted longhorn, is a beetle species of flower longhorns of the family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lepturinae.
Varieties Varieties within this species include:
Rutpela maculata var. calcarata Olivier, 1790 Rutpela maculata var. maculipes Podaný, 1950 Rutpela maculata var. nigricornis (Stierlin, 1864) Rutpela maculata var. seminotata Kaufman, 1947 Rutpela maculata var. subbinotata Podaný Rutpela maculata var. subsinuata Depoli Rutpela maculata var. undulata (Mulsant, 1839) Rutpela maculata var. subexternepunctata Podaný Rutpela maculata var. parumnotata Podaný Rutpela maculata var. subspinosa Fabricius, 1792 Rutpela maculata var. subundulata Depoli, 1926 Rutpela maculata var. subdisconotata Podaný Rutpela maculata var. sinuata Fabricius, 1792
Distribution This beetle is widespread in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sardinia, Serbia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, and the United Kingdom).Fauna europaeaBiolib
Description
The adults grow up to . The head and pronotum are dark-brown, while elytra are yellowish, with black dots and stripes, rough imitations of wasps, which probably gives them some protection from birds.Hoskovec M., Rejzek M.: Longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) of the West Palearctic region
Biology The species completes its life cycle in two to three years, spending most of their lives as larvae. The adults can be encountered from May to August; they are short-lived, only living for two to four weeks. They are very common flower-visitors, especially Apiaceae species, feeding on pollen and the nectar. The larvae are polyphagous in the wood of deciduous trees, mainly feeding on Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Castanea sativa and Ostrya carpinifolia, as well as on Quercus, Carpinus, Salix, Alnus, Populus and Betula species.
See also Clytus arietis, another common wasp-mimicking longhorn beetle.
References
External links
Cerambycoidea