Size:
6-13 mm.
Host plant: 1 year. Asteraceae, also cited
from other herbaceous plants.
Life cycle: Adults in February-April.
Distribution: SW Europe, North Africa, Near
East.
Libya: Cyrenaica and Tripolitania.
Differs
from Agapanthia c. cardui (Linnaeus, 1767) by distinctly
attenuate (or even acuminate) elytra at apex, broadly clothed
in yellowish pubescence. For this species, the oldest available
name seems to be Agapanthia suturalis (Fabricius, 1787).
Further clarification of nomenclatural status and distributional
ranges of A. cardui complex is needed (Sama, 2002). The
left specimen (Saraj, Tripolitania) is more typical than the left
darker one.
Common
in spring in both Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. Mostly on Thistles.
Cyrenaica: Tukrah, 17/04/2003. Haniyah, 30/03/2005, P. Weill Leg.
Tripolitania: As Sarraj, 02/03/2002; Az Zahrah, 13/032003 and
06/03/2004; Tarhunah, 16/02/2002. Bukamash, 11/03/2005, P. Weill
Leg.