magazine_ Article
The beetle’s return
A beetle species thought to be extinct has been rediscovered in South Tyrol.
With its blue and black spotted body and very long antennae. The beech cerambix beetle is among the largest and most beautiful beetles found in nature. It had been considered missing in South Tyrol since 1932 but has now been resighted. Its occurrence reflects the health of forests since its larvae feed on mature or decaying trees and it is present in historic forests where trees have lived a long time.
Because of its important ecological role, the beech cerambix is protected at the European level. In fact, the Habitats Directive of the Natura 2000 Network requires all member states to strictly protect certain animal and plant species that are considered as community interest. Even just to handle the specimens so as to photograph and classify them, the research team needed a special permit issued by the relevant body.
The first sighting of the Alpine longhorn beetle was made in 2021 by Dominik Figl, at the time a biology student from Kaltern an der Weinstraße. This report enabled the Eurac Research team, with the help of an expert search by Georg von Mörl, to confirm the presence of the Alpine longhorn beetle in the Mendel/Mendola area. Now the finding has been confirmed by the Eurac Research team and South Tyrolean beetle expert Georg Von Mörl who found it in the original sighting area during a targeted survey. This discovery confirms the high conservation value of the area’s forests, especially the ancient beeches they contain. Experts from the Eurac Research and the Province of Bolzano regularly go out into the area to monitor protected species as part of their “Species Monitoring” project, which is funded and coordinated by the Province of Bolzano’s Nature Office. The results of these campaigns also contribute to the data of the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol project, which has been active for five years thanks to a collaboration between Eurac Research, the Museum of Natural Sciences and several provincial departments. Much to the surprise of the research team, the sighting of the beech cerambix was not just an individual, but a small population was identified, and more surveys are planned for next summer.
The team were also searching for another species which depends on dead or dying wood, the saproxylic beetle of the protected “odorous hermit beetle” (Osmoderma eremita) species which the team discovered in an intentionally planted chestnut grove near Bressanone/Brixen. The species in fact, usually lives in old deciduous forests. This finding underscores the importance of cultivated environments such as meadows or gardens where trees are also present for biodiversity conservation.
“Cooperation between institutions for monitoring our natural heritage is essential to protect nature from climate change and future challenges,” says Andreas Hilpold of Eurac Research, coordinator of the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol initiative. “The return of species thought to be extinct is a positive indicator, and we hope to continue making such discoveries.”
This rediscovery is an impressive example of how important citizen observations are for science. “We would like to encourage everyone interested in nature to continue reporting their sightings of rare or protected species to the South Tyrolean Museum of Nature and to document them on platforms such as iNaturalist. Your support is invaluable for the protection and preservation of our native biodiversity,” emphasizes the museum team.
