Pselactus spadix (Herbst, 1795)

Friedman, Ariel-Leib-Leonid, 2023, A review of the saproxylic weevil subfamily Cossoninae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Israel, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 52 (6), pp. 75-96 : 90

Pselactus spadix (Herbst, 1795)

( Figs 6, 7, 16, 17)

Material examined: Israel: Central Coastal Plain : Ganne Yehuda, 6.v.1987, Asher, ex Myrtus communis (2 exx.) .

Distribution: Cosmopolitan. Europe:Azores, UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Czech Rep., Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia; North Africa: Madeira, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt; Asia: Turkey, Iran; introduced into the Australian, Nearctic and Neotropical Regions; now probably distributed worldwide) Folwaczny 1973; HlavÁČ & Maughan 2013; Alonso-Zarazaga et al. 2023). Recorded from Israel by Halperin and Fremuth (2003).

Biology: This species occurs in the littoral zone and in wooden constructions. It lives and develops on dead wet wood, and has been recorded from various deciduous trees and shrubs: Acer ( Aceraceae ), Celtis ( Cannabaceae ), Populus , Salix ( Salicaceae ), Ulmus ( Ulmaceae ), and Cotinus coggygria Scop. ( Anacardiaceae ) ( Folwaczny 1973), from Pinus spp. ( Halperin & Fremuth 2003), rotten timber ( Yunakov et al. 2018). Here it is recorded from the cultivated Myrtus communis L. ( Myrtaceae ). This cossonine is extremely polyphagous.