Alpine barbel - relict species threatened with destruction

Barbel or lumberjack is a large family of beetles, famous for its long segmented mustache. Their life cycle is closely related to trees, which are fodder plants. Among more than 26 thousand species, the alpine barbel stands out for its beautiful color, which combines blue and black. Due to massive deforestation, the beetle population has declined significantly. Alpine lumberjacks are listed in the Red Book of Russia and the European Union.

Biological Description of the Species

The body length of the alpine lumberjack (Rosaliaalpine) is 15-38 mm. The main body color is black, but light gray or blue hairs cover it. Visually creates a feeling of color. Black velvety spots create a pattern on the body. The first of them is located on the pronotum, immediately behind the head. The pattern on the elytra consists of two spots in the anterior third, a wide black band in the middle and a pair of small spots at the edge. Hips, tibiae and tarsi are covered with blue hairs, in places of articulation the cover is black.

Information. Beetle Alpine barbel is the only representative of the relict genus Rosalia in Europe. The appearance of the insect has remained unchanged for several million years.

The head is medium in size, with complex facet eyes located on the sides. Antennae (antennas) consist of cylindrical segments. The main color of the antennas is blue, but the upper thickened part of each segment is painted black. In a section from 3 to 6 segments of hair are present. Black segments with hair brushes contrast brightly with bare patches of blue. The length of the antennae can be used to determine the floor of the beetle - in males the antennas are twice the size of the body, and in females only slightly extend beyond the elytra.

Interesting fact. A distinctive feature of the barbel family is the laying of a segmented antennae behind the back. They never bend the antennas for themselves.

Prothorax gray-blue, blunt teeth on sides of pronotum. The grayish color with black spots serves as a good camouflage against the background of beech trunks. Look at the photo, the alpine barbel has wings, this species has not lost its ability to fly.

Larva of the species Rosaliaalpine

The body of the larva is fleshy, white or yellowish. The head is brown, the jaws are forward, on the pronotum there is a large orange spot. The thoracic legs are rudimentary; they consist of four segments ending in claws. Most of the body is covered with soft skin. The dimensions of the adult larva are 35–40 mm long and 8 mm wide. The abdomen consists of 9 segments, on them there are peculiar corns used for movement. On the sides of the body are oval spiracles.

Lifestyle

The beetle Alpine barbel begins its life cycle, appearing in June from a hole in the tree bark. He has only 3-6 weeks to mate and leave offspring. Adult years are observed throughout the summer, until September. Insects are especially active on warm sunny days. They actively fly between the trees, look for the opposite sex and mate. Agile lumberjacks run around and around tree trunks, climb stones. They feed on pollen of flowers, tree sap, young leaves. In cloudy weather, beetles prefer to sit in shelter.

Attention.During courtship of the female, males show aggression in relation to the rival. Strong jaws they can bite the enemy in case of danger.

The life cycle of a beetle takes three years. In its development, it goes through all the stages characteristic of insects with complete transformation. Most of the life is occupied by the larval stage. Pupation occurs in May-June, and a month later a young lumberjack appears.

Habitat

The habitat of the alpine barbel covers all of Europe, in the north its border runs through Sweden and Switzerland. It occurs in the Middle East - in Iran, Syria, in the Transcaucasus - Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. In Russia, beetles are observed in the Voronezh, Rostov, Belgorod regions, in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. Rare insects remained in Chechnya, Ingushetia. Crimea. For the settlement, lumberjacks choose broad-leaved and mixed forests, where beeches and elm (elm) trees grow. Beetles often live in the mountains, but climb above 1500 m above sea level.

Breeding

Females lay eggs in cracks of tree bark with trunks with a diameter of at least 50 cm. Mostly they choose oak or elm, but can leave offspring on oak, ash, linden, willow, walnut, and hawthorn. The wood must be dry, so beetles settle in open areas warmed by the sun. The selected location is 3-6 m above the ground. In favorable conditions, the offspring appears two weeks later. Larvae live in the border region between the forehead and the cambium. They do not go deep into the wood.

Interesting fact. When the beetle cleans the elytra with its hind legs, an unusual chirping sound arises.

The larva can create a stroke with a length of up to 50 cm, a diameter of 1 cm. It ends under the bark, where a cradle for the pupa is created. This species has a free chrysalis, its body parts (elytra, antennae, extremities, head and others) are not spliced, but are pressed to the body. In the pupal stage, the insect spends 30-40 days.

Causes of Beetle Reduction

The Alpine barbel species is a relict species that has been living on the planet for more than 5 million years. Having survived many disasters and climate change, he was threatened with destruction as a result of loss of habitat. There are several reasons for the decline in the population:

• cutting down old mixed forests where beech grows;
• removal of fallen trees, which are the refuge of larvae;
• replacing coniferous deciduous forests;
• uncontrolled catching of beetles for collecting.

Modern forest management methods are optimal for people, but have a negative effect on barbel bugs. Previously, felled trunks for a long time lay along the roads. Alpine woodcutters actively used them as fodder plants for offspring. Currently, the pace of work has increased, trunks are quickly processed, cut and taken away. Mixed forests gradually became predominantly coniferous.

The use of fertilizers led to an active growth in green mass, a shading appeared that prevented the drying of dead wood. But barbel larvae live in dry trunks. Fungi and bacteria develop on a damp surface, preventing the pupa from becoming an adult.

Security measures

Alpine barbel is protected by the state in all countries of habitat. The beetle is listed in the Red Book of Russia as a species whose number is declining (category 2). He was on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Red List. It is protected in 4 Russian reserves: Tiberdinsky, Zhigulevsky, Caucasian, Shulgan-Tash. In the Balkan countries, the beetle is found in several places; in the Czech Republic, it has practically disappeared. The Danube-Ipoli Hungarian National Park has chosen the alpine barbel as its symbol. To restore the population, the assistance of landowners is required. Biological commissions ask to partially leave dead trees or move them to light areas.