Rhaesus serricollis (Motschulsky, 1838) - Cyprus

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

Family. Cerambycidae

Rhaesus serricollis, a species occuring in Balcan Peninsula, Turkey, Near East, Caucasus/Transcaucasia, Egypt, Cyprus and Iran, has been described from Geargia as Prionus serricollis by Victor Ivanovitsch Motschulsky in 1860 . Larvae of this remarkable beetle develop in decaying trunks (both standing or fallen) of many tree species. Pupation occurs in the wood in the spring and early summer, life-cycle at least 3 years. Adults, active from late May to August, are crepuscular/nocturnal and can be attracted to light. From http://www.cerambyx.uochb.cz/rhaesus_serricollis.php

Photos Agios Paulos Limassol , by George Konstantinou

Semi-terrestrial crab - Levantine freshwater crab - Potamon potamios (Olivier, 1804) Κάβουρας γλυκού νερού - Cyprus

Family: Potamidae
Potamon potamios, the Levantine freshwater crab, is a semi-terrestrial crab occurring around the eastern Mediterranean, including many Mediterranean islands,extending as far south and west as the Sinai Peninsula.

Potamon is a genus of freshwater or semiterrestrial crabs mainly found from Southern Europe through the Middle East, and as far east as north-western India. The only exception is the North African P. algeriense, which also is the only potamid of mainland Africa. Twenty species are currently recognised:These crabs are omnivores that have a broad ecological tolerance. The adult Potaman reach up to 50 mm in size during their 10-12 year life span.

Photos Orkonta , by George Konstantinou

Perotis susannae (Novak, 1983) - Endemic to Cyprus

Endemic to Cyprus
Family Buprestidae.

Photos Agios Theodoros Karpasias , 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Tufted ghost crab - Ocypode cursor (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

Family:Ocypodidae

Ocypode cursor, the tufted ghost crab, is a species of ghost crab found on sandy beaches along the coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Description

Ocypode cursor can reach a carapace width of 55 millimetres (2.2 in). O. cursor can be distinguished from O. ceratophthalma and other species of Ocypode by the presence of a tuft of setae (bristles) extending from the tips of the eyestalks.

Distribution

Ocypode cursor has a disjunct distribution, comprising the eastern Mediterranean Sea and tropical parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but not the western Mediterranean Sea which connects them. It is thought that O. cursor entered the Mediterranean Sea during a warm period, but was restricted to the warmer eastern part during a subsequent cooler period, isolating the two populations. Similar patterns are seen in the sea snail Charonia variegata and the sea anemone Telmatactis cricoides. Its range is apparently expanding in the Mediterranean, and it is likely that the two populations may rejoin in the future. In the Atlantic Ocean, O. cursor reaches as far south as northern Namibia, but does not reach South Africa.

Ecology

In West Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean, Ocypode cursor prefers to live in sandy beaches, where it burrows near the high-tide mark, and sometimes above the intertidal zone altogether. The water content of the sand was the key factor determining burrow distribution. It is less tolerant of extremes of salinity and temperature than the fiddler crab Uca tangeri, but can still extend some distance into brackish waters. O. cursor is a predator, and frequently feeds on the eggs of sea turtles. In the Mediterranean Sea, where the tidal range is negligible, the burrows of O. cursor begin within 3 metres (10 ft) of the sea, with larger crabs further from the water's edge.

Taxonomy

Ocypode cursor was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, under the name "Cancer cursor. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Rizokarpaso, 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Lyristes plebejus (Scopoli, 1763) Cicada - The biggest cicada of Cyprus

Lyristes is a genus of cicadas from Europe and the Middle East. It was described by G. Horvath in 1926.

Many authors previously listed the species of Lyristes under genus Tibicen Berthold, 1827, which shares the same type species. However, in 2021, this senior objective synonym was placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Generic Names in Zoology by Opinion 2475 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

Beginning in 2015, many American and Asian species were moved from this genus to create the new genera Auritibicen, Hadoa, Neotibicen, and Megatibicen, following molecular and morphological evidence

Family Cicadidae

The biggest cicada of Cyprus

Photos Rizokarpaso, 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Palpares libelluloides (Linnaeus, 1764) Cyprus

Palpares libelluloides is a species of antlion in the genus Palpares belonging to the family Myrmeleontidae . It is found across Southern Europe.

Palpares is an antlion genus in the Myrmeleonidae family.

Palpares libelluloides has a relatively large wingspan of more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in). The very broad wings are mottled dark brown. The males can be recognized by their long, delicate genital appendages.

The day-and night-active imagos can be observed from May to September. Their flight is usually short and close to the ground.

The specific name libelluloides means "dragonfly-like" (cf the dragonfly genus Libellula).

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Mediterranean regions and it is mainly present in Albania, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain and Turkey. It can be found in thickets and rocky slopes up to about 1000 meters above sea level.

Photos Rizokarpaso, 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Photo Athienou, 4/7/2019, by George Konstantinou

Sandy beach Mora Psaria at the northern coastline of Rizokarpaso - Παραλία Μωρά Ψάρια στη βόρεια ακτογραμμή στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Cyprus

Η απομονωμένη αμμώδης παραλία Μωρά Ψάρια στη βόρεια ακτογραμμή του Ριζοκάρπασου. Εξωτική παραλία με λευκή άμμο και γαλάζια, ολοκάθαρα νερά. Σχηματίστηκε σε γραφικό κολπίσκο και περιβάλλεται από ένα πανέμορφο φυσικό τοπίο με πλούσια θαμνώδη βλάστηση και εντυπωσιακούς βραχώδεις σχηματισμούς.

The secluded sandy beach Mora Psaria at the northern coastline of Rizokarpaso. Exotic beach with white sand and blue, clear waters. It was formed in a picturesque bay, surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape with rich maquis vegetation and impressive rock formations.

Photos 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

See also

ο κατεχόμενο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - The village of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus

Νησιά Κλείδες - Καρπασία - klidhes islands - Cyprus

Ο ναός του Αγίου Φίλωνος στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of agios filonas at rizokarpaso

Παναγία της Αφέντρικας στο Ριζοκάρπασο

Περιοχή «Φυλακές»στην περιοχή της αρχαίας πόλης Ουρανίας (Αφέντρικας) Στο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο

Η Μονή της Παναγίας Ελεούσας του Σινά στη Καρπασία - The Monastery of Panayia Eleousa of Sinai in the Karpas

Ἱερός Ναός Άγιος Συνέσιος:.στο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο, Ο Προστάτης της Καρπασίας - Saint Synesios at Rizokarpaso The Prodector of Karpasia Cyprus

Ιερά Μονή Αποστόλου Ανδρέα στην Καρπασία - Apostolos Andreas Monastery in Rizokarpaso Cyprus

Cyprus donkey (Equus asinus) Γαϊδούρι. - Γάρος

Εκκλησία Άγιος Θέρισσος στην Καρπασία - Church of Agios therissos at karpasia Cyprus

Εκκλησία Αγιά Τριάδα στο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - Church Agia Triada at Rizokarpaso Cyprus

Η εκκλησία της Παναγίας (Νεκροταφείο) στο Ριζοκάρπασο - Church of Panagias at rizokarpaso

Ξωκλησι Αγίου Γεωργίου στο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - Church Agios Georgios at Rizokarpaso

Ξωκλήσι του Αγίου Ιωάννη στο χωριό Ριζοκάρπασο - Church Agios Ioannis at Rizokarpaso

Η παραλία Παχύαμμος κοντά στο Μοναστήρι του Αποστόλου Αντρέα, στη Χερσόνησο της Καρπασίας - Pachyammos Beach near the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas in the Karpasia Peninsula

Η παραλία του Ρόννα στις βόρειες ακτές του Ριζοκαρπάσου - Ronnas beach at the north coast of Rizokarpaso - Cyprus

Εξωκλήσι Άγιος Νικόλαος στο Ριζοκάρπασο

Η παραλία του Έξαρχου κοντα στην μεσαιωνική ερειπωμένη πόλη Αφέντρικας ή Ουρανίας στο Ριζοκάρπασο.

Cape Elea near Agios Theodoros Karpasias

Ακρωτήριον Ελαία κοντά στον Άγιο Θεόδωρο Καρπασίας

Photos 7/8/2015, by George Konstantinou

Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis sp. - Cyprus

Family Chrysididae 

Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration. They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas.

The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species.

Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp,emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf. French guêpe de feu, fire-wasp, and German Goldwespe, gold-wasp).

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower abdomens and can curl into a defensive ball when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug. Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids, of either sawflies or walking sticks, and cannot fold up into a ball.

Chrysidids are always solitary, and are closely associated with other solitary wasps. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer, preferring subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favour dry areas and sandy soils; each species is confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitise, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Umbelliferae, Compositae and Euphorbiae. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agios Sozomenos, by George Konstantinou

Cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps - Chrysis sp. - Cyprus

Family Chrysididae

Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors created by structural coloration. They are most diverse in desert regions of the world, as they are typically associated with solitary bee and wasp species, which are also most diverse in such areas.

The term "cuckoo wasp" refers to the cuckoo-like way in which wasps in the family lay eggs in the nests of unrelated host species.

Chrysididae, the scientific name of the family, refers to their shiny bodies and is derived from Greek chrysis, chrysid-, "gold vessel, gold-embroidered dress", plus the familial suffix -idae. The common names of many species pay similar tribute to their appearance: jewel wasp, gold wasp,emerald wasp, ruby wasp and so on (cf. French guêpe de feu, fire-wasp, and German Goldwespe, gold-wasp).

Members of the largest subfamily, Chrysidinae, are the most familiar; they are generally kleptoparasites, laying their eggs in host nests, where their larvae consume the host egg or larva while it is still young, then the food provided by the host for its own juvenile. Chrysidines are distinguished from the members of other subfamilies in that most have flattened or concave lower abdomens and can curl into a defensive ball when attacked by a potential host, in the manner of a pill bug. Members of the other subfamilies are parasitoids, of either sawflies or walking sticks, and cannot fold up into a ball.

Chrysidids are always solitary, and are closely associated with other solitary wasps. They fly mainly in the hottest and driest months of summer, preferring subtropical and Mediterranean climates. They favour dry areas and sandy soils; each species is confined to a narrow type of microhabitat where adults may rest or find hosts to parasitise, for example on bare soil or on dead wood where other solitary wasps have their nest holes. Some species visit flowers such as of the Umbelliferae, Compositae and Euphorbiae. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Agios Sozomenos, by George Konstantinou