Heterobostrychus aequalis (Waterhouse, 1884)

Nardi, Gianluca & Mifsud, David, 2015, The Bostrichidae of the Maltese Islands (Coleoptera), ZooKeys 481, pp. 69-108 : 78-79

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Bostrichidae

Heterobostrychus aequalis (Waterhouse, 1884)

Material examined.

Malta: Rabat, 21.IX.2001, PS, 1 ♂ (CMM).

Chorotype.

A cosmopolitan species of Indo-Malaysian origins. It is mainly distributed in tropical and sub-tropical regions and restricted to 40° north and south of the equator (cf. Borowski 2007, Borowski and Węgrzynowicz 2007, Azmi et al. 2011: 500, fig. 2). In the Mediterranean, it was intercepted in Israel, Italy and Spain (cf. Gambetta 1983, Geis 2002, Ratti 2002, 2004 b, Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007, Ratti 2007, Azmi et al. 2011). Ireland ( O’Mahony 1949, as Heterobostrichus [sic!] aequalis ), France (cf. Brustel and Aberlenc 2014) and Oregon ( Westcott et al. 2006) must be added to the countries in which this species was intercepted (cf. Azmi et al. 2011), eventhough the former record was based on collection of death specimens (larvae and adults), which was later ignored (cf. Anderson et al. 1997, Geis 2002, Nardi 2004b, Borowski 2007, Denux and Zagatti 2010, Alexander and Anderson 2012).

Ecology.

Polyphagous species attacking some 36 unrelated host-plant genera; this species breeds not only in logs, but also in planks, furniture, plywood and roots of manioc (cf. Fisher 1950, Kalshoven 1963a, 1963b, Horion 1972, Gambetta 1983, Wang et al. 1996, as Heterobostrachus [sic!] aequalis , Geis 2002, Maes 2005, Aguilera 2006, Bahillo de la Puebla et al. 2007, Sitticaya et al. 2009, Robinson 2013).

Notes. First record for Malta. This species become established in some countries where it was accidentally introduced. Temperatures of 17 °C and below are said to be unsuitable for the species to breed (cf. Ivie 2002, Azmi et al. 2011). Thus, considering the warm climate of the Maltese Islands, ( Chetcuti et al. 1992), it is highly likely that the species is already an established one. The above specimen was collected with a light trap on a terrace, mainly surrounded by agricultural land (P. Sammut, pers. comm., 2002).