Insects marked with a red or blue dot
We have everything this summer!
We photographed three specimens of Rosalia alpina in matting dance in the middle of the mating season, and some of them will leave „decorated” with a red or blue dot.
We catch these strictly protected insects using flight interception traps, and mark them carefully to recognize them when we recapture them at other sites. Therefore, all specimens return safely to nature!
The Rosalia longicorn is a large beetle of the Cerambycidae family, which can be easily recognized by its blue-velvet or bluish-gray color. Adult specimens have lengths between 14 and 40 mm, with the antennae as long as the body in females and twice as long as the body in males. The longicorn is dependent on rooted wood for reproduction. Adults and larvae live mainly on beech, occasionally on other deciduous species (maple, elm, hornbeam, linden). For reproduction, it prefers old trees with rot, relatively isolated (sun exposed) and without tall shrubs around them.
The Rosalia longicorn is a species protected by the Habitats Directive (priority species, listed in Annexes II and IV) and by Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2007 on the regime of protected natural areas, conservation of natural habitats, wild flora and fauna. It is considered to have a favorable conservation status in Romania (monitoring period 2013-2018), due to a potential overestimation of the area that can be theoretically occupied by this species.
