Coracinotus politus (Bolívar, 1901)

Habitat:
Coracinotus politus inhabits pine woodland (Pinus nigra) of the Sierra del Segura.

Life cycle:
The larvae hatch quite late in summer and live in the herb layer at first. But soon they ascend to the pine trees where they feed on other insects and pine leaves. The adults appear between late August and early December, most often only from mid-September and with peak in October. The males draw attention by their singing which resembles rustling leaves. and is usually performed from high above on twigs. But occasional you come across males on the ground or on trunks. The females are inconspicuous and seldom found. They descend to the ground for oviposition. In bead weather I luckily recorded females resting on trunks or in the herb layer. The animals alo feed on the ground, e.g. on fungus.

Remarks:
Coracinotus politus belongs to a group of four closely related species that are all endemic to a small area in the northeastern part of Andalusia. Three are known from the the Sierra del Segura and its vicinity. Coracinotus politus is found e.g. from Siles to south of Santiago de la Espada in the Jaen province and in adjacent Granada (Pueblo de Don Fadrique, Puerto del Pinar) and Albacete (east of Santiago de la Espada), mostly between 1200 and 1600m. C. notarioi is found more northerly in the Albacete province between about Alcaraz and Riopar. Coracinotus presai is only known from a single locality in the Granada province. Out of the Sierra del Segura , but only a couple of kilometres to the southeast, Coracinotus squamifera ist known from at present only a single site in the Sierra de Maria.