Abstract
Guidelines for the monitoring of Osmoderma eremita and closely related species
Highlights
The hermit beetle, Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763), is a large saproxylic chafer (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) associated with hollow veteran trees of the European broadleaf woodlands
In order to facilitate the answer to this obligation, the Life Project “Monitoring of insects with public participation” (LIFE11 NAT/IT/000252: hereafter, MIPP) conducted experimental fieldwork to develop a standardised method for monitoring the saproxylic beetle species for the project: Osmoderma eremita, Lucanus cervus (European stag beetle, Lucanidae), Cerambyx cerdo, Rosalia alpina and Morimus asper/funereus (Mason et al 2015)
The dispersal activity of 39 individuals (16 males, 23 females) was followed by a 2-year radio-telemetric approach and the results showed that hermit beetles spent their lifetime inside hollow trees and in other habitats, such as under the ground surface
Summary
The hermit beetle, Osmoderma eremita (Scopoli, 1763), is a large saproxylic chafer (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) associated with hollow veteran trees of the European broadleaf woodlands It is included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora). The paper starts with a significant revision of the current knowledge on systematics, distribution, ecology, ethology and conservation of Osmoderma eremita and allied species, mostly derived from a subsequent split of the species and worthy of the same protection level. Such a review is followed by the experimental test of methods for monitoring its populations
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