back to HYPP Zoology home page


.

Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant)
Insecta, Coleoptera, Cerambycidae .

Grape Vesperus

Description, Biology, Life Cycle, Damage, Common Names, Images

[R]Description
- Adult: 15 to 30 mm. Female apterous; the elytra atrophied and the abdomen voluminous (*) . The antennae are shorter than the body in the female, longer in the male (*) . The head, thorax and abdomen are brownish, the last abdominal segment strongly ciliated.
- Egg: yellowish white.
- Larva: the first-instar larva is cyclindrical, brown, and bears bristles; the second-instar larva is massive, trapezoidal, with strong transverse wrinkles and covered in reddish bristles (*) .

[R]Biology
- This highly polyphagous insect develops in vine, fig, most of the fruit and forest trees, market-garden crops, leguminous plants, Cucurbitaceae and wild Rosaceae.
- Adult: the male flies at twilight. The female lays rapidly after she has come out of the ground. She deposits her eggs in clusters in stake cracks, under the bark of old stumps or in large wounds.
- Larva: penetrates the ground and gnaws the roots and the stem. It buries itself deeply in the ground in summer and in winter and returns to the superficial layers in spring and autumn. It pupates in the ground at the end of winter.

[R]Life Cycle
- 1 annual generation.
- The adult emerges from the ground as early as December if climatic conditions are favourable, the maximum emergence occurs in February. Hatching of eggs occurs at intervals from March to May and the larva burrows immediately into the ground.

[R]Damage
Damage caused by the larva to the roots can be very serious, particularly in young vineyards in Mediterranean regions.

[R]Common Names
DE: Boutou, Menge-mallol ES: Vesperus de la viña, sacristan FR: Vespère de la vigne, Menge-mallol IT: Cerambicide PT: Vespero da vinha GB: Grape vesperus

[R] Images

  1. Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant) (Pétré / Balachowsky)
    Larva
  2. Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant) (Pétré / Balachowsky)
    Adult female
  3. Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant) (Coutin R. / OPIE)
    Adult male at the base of a vine stock
  4. Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant) (Zagatti P. / INRA) #
    Adult female just dug up, sitting on its earth cocoon.
  5. Vesperus xatarti (Dufour-Mulsant) (Zagatti P. / INRA) #
    Adult female.

To read this page in French

HYPPZ on line : Species (scientific name), Pests (common names), Glossary, Crops.

back to HYPP Zoology home page