Phylogeny and higher classification of the cerambycid subfamily Lepturinae remain controversial. Here we report the results of a cytogenetic study of 18 species currently classified in Lepturini and 12 species in other tribes of Lepturinae (1 in Oxymirini, 1 in Rhamnusiini and 10 in Rhagiini) from Western Europe. The male sex chromosome formula is XY in all Rhagiini, Oxymirini and in Grammoptera ruficornis in the Lepturini (whose tribal placement may be doubtful), and X0 in all the remaining Lepturini. The rarity of the X0 formula in other Cerambycidae indicates that the Y chromosome was lost in a common ancestor of the Lepturini or a subgroup thereof, indicating its monophyletic origin. The number of chromosomes is stable in the Lepturini that lack a Y chromosome (19,X/20,XX in males and females, respectively), but varies from 20 to 24 in the remaining genera, probably the consequence of evolution by chromosome fission. Whereas all the males with 19 or 20 chromosomes have an early gametogenesis, which is achieved before the imago stage, the species with more than 20 chromosomes seem to have a delayed male gametogenesis, which is still active in the young imagoes. The species of Rhagiini with 22 chromosomes may constitute a monophyletic group.
Pollinating insects are important and therefore, it is important to be able to assess and monitor changes in their abundance. Consequently, it is essential that the methods used to collect data have some level of precision and are accurate. In the present study, two commonly used methods: colour pan-traps and sweep netting along transects, were compared. A total of 1775 specimens of 120 species of four insect families were caught in twelve clear-cuts in southern Sweden. Overall, Lepturinae (Cerambycidae; 5 species) and Cetoniidae (Scarabaeidae; 2) were trapped in larger numbers by pan-traps and Syrphidae (62) and Apoidea, both social (10) and solitary (41), by sweep netting. The catches of none of the above groups of insects by the two methods were correlated. These results show that the composition of catches of the two methods are very different, which has implications when choosing a method for sampling or monitoring and comparing and analysing published data.