#longicorn beetles

[mindblowingscience]

To help make wood more palatable, some wood-feeding insects are assisted by symbiotic microorganisms that break down the components of wood into an edible form.

A group from Nagoya University in Japan has isolated a symbiotic yeast from adults, larvae and eggs of the Japanese longicorn beetle and identified specialized organs that store the yeast, allowing the beetles to break down the unpalatable components of wood. Their findings were published in PLOS ONE.

"I have been fascinated with longicorn beetles since childhood because there are more than 900 species in Japan and they just look cool," said Dr. Wataru Toki, a lecturer at Nagoya University. "When I visited forests as a boy, I wanted to see new longicorn beetles that I had never seen before. As a researcher, I am interested in how they eat wood, because after all humans cannot eat wood. I found several studies that suggested microorganisms could be the key."

Wood is an important part of the life cycle of the longicorn beetle. After visiting flowers to collect pollen, the female Japanese flower longicorn beetle lays eggs on dead and rotting wood. Within a month, the larvae hatch and burrow into the wood. They feed and pupate before hatching into adults. Understanding how the larvae survive by eating wood is important because they help decompose dead wood, contributing to the cycling of nutrients in the forest.

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[wikipediapictures]

Tragocephala cuneifera

[creatureimages]

poinciana longicorn!!!!!!

absolutely gorgeous huge guy who gave me a mighty and respectable bite! (below the cut due to. blood [not much]). the bite was entirely provoked and my fault due to me picking it up to relocate it with full knowledge they can give a powerful bite

what a guy!!!!!!!!

[drhoz]

#2427 - Hybolasius crista

One of 9,776 species of insects first described by Johan Christian Fabricius, back in 1775. Another New Zealand endemic longicorn.

There are 19 species of Hybolasius in New Zealand, and others elsewhere. H. crista breeds in the stems of large-leaved Coprosma species, apparently, but little is known about their biology.

Mangorei, Taranaki, New Zealand.

[pogomcl]

Spotted Longhorn, Ruptela maculata Canon 400D EF 100 2.8 f/13 1/100 iso: 400 Srbsko Czech Republic 7/5/2009 #

[colorsoutofearth]

Rosalia longicorn (Rosalia alpina)

Photo by Andres Miguel Dominguez

[teology]

had a great photosession with Rosalia alpina that visited our home today ✨

[photographe-a-roulettes]

Lepture Fauve - Les larves se nourrissent des bois morts ou vivants des feuillus et des conifères.

Lieu : Chez moi, Hauts-de-France

[mahamayax]

[aardwolfpack]

An excellent-looking bug.

Rosalia longicorn

Photographer: Daniela Graf

GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2023

[miyrumiyru]

Colorful stipple beetle :)

Black Longicorn Beetle (Spondylis buprestoides)

[detestable-darling]

A longicorn beetle and a fiddler beetle I saw recently!! :D

[onenicebugperday]

Alpine longhorn beetle aka Rosalia longicorn, Rosalia alpina, Cerambycidae

This species is found from the Cantabrian Mountains in Spain east through the Caucasus region. It is considered vulnerable due to habitat loss and is protected in a number of countries. Although striking in appearance, it is camouflaged well against its preferred host tree, the European beech:

Photos 1-3 by kostaszontanos, 4 by rogervila, 5 by lazar_zenit, 6 by per-hoffmann-olsen, 7-8 by matthieu_gauvain, 9 by martin_galli, 10 by per-hoffmann-olsen, and 11 by Franz Xaver

[creatureimages]

another green fellow on the casuarina

love moth common names. this is the green-blotched moth (cosmodes elegans). because she. the wings are blotched. with green

[drhoz]

#2426 - Prionoplus reticularis - Huhu

Windows in New Zealand usually don't have flyscreens on them, because they don't have remotely the fly problem Australia does. One bonus is getting New Zealand's heaviest beetle flying into the room.

The beetle and its larvae have various names in te reo Māori, - the larval form is known as huhu, tunga haere, or tunga rākau, the final larval stage after it empties its gut and prepares to pupate as tataka, the pupa as pepe, and the adult pepe-te-muimui or tunga rere.

The adults only live a few weeks, so I was lucky I was in the country over that window. The larvae spend two or three years eating dead gymnosperm timber.

The larvae are highly prized as a traditional food, and very nutritious.

The adult beetles are nocturnal and are attracted to light. George Vernon Hudson wrote in 1892 "this propensity frequently leads it on summer evenings to invade ladies' drawing-rooms, when its sudden and noisy arrival is apt to cause much needless consternation amongst the inmates". Maybe not that needless though - they have powerful mandibles like other Prionine longicorns, and don't hesitate to bite. As I discovered to my cost. The little bastard.

Mangorei, Taranaki, New Zealand

[pogomcl]

Red Pine Longhorn Beetle Stictoleptura rubra Canon 400D EF 100 2.8 f/ 6.3 1/320 iso: 400 Srbsko, Czech Republic 8/4/2013