#new zealand longicorn

[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.

[drhoz]

#2425 - Stenellipsis gracilis

A longicorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. The other 49 species in the genus are found in New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Australia. Unfortunately that's the only information I have on them.

Mangorei, Taranaki, New Zealand

[drhoz]

#1901 - Zorion batesi - Bates’s Flower Longicorn

Zorion (formerly Obrium, until they got their own genus) is a genus of 10 species, all endemic to New Zealand, and regarded as some of the country’s most colourful beetles. 

Unfortunately this one, photographed by @purrdence on the flowers of a Wild Carrot while she was in Taupō, isn’t one of the best. It’s barely showing what seems to be a common feature across the genus - paired pale spots on either side of the elytra. Given their small size - 3-7mm, shininess, and rounded shapes, I strongly suspect they’re using those pale spots to given the impression of a narrow, ant-like waist. A good defense against many insectivorous predators.

Z. guttigerum, by Fern-DK

Zorion longicorns breed in freshly cut and broken branches of a wide range of species, and the adults can be found in considerable numbers on flowers, both native and exotic. The males, significantly smaller than their mates, will become quite territorial, even if there aren’t any females in the immediate vicinity. 

[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

[drhoz]

#2501 - Arhopalus ferus - Burnt Pine Longhorn 

AKA Callidium tristis, Criocephalus ferus and Criocephalum polonicum.

A longicorn found across Europe, Northern Asia (except Japan), and North Africa, and introduced to Australia and New Zealand some time in the middle of last century.

8–30 mm in length - males being substantially smaller than their mates.

The beetles are strongly attracted to the smell of burnt or damaged pines and spruces, since their larvae struggle to survive in healthy trees. Quite commonly found around sawmills, because of the smell of the timber.

Paraparaumu,  Kāpiti Coast, New Zealand

[drhoz]

#1453 - Coptocercus rubripes -  Round-headed Wood Borer

Longicorn beetles closely resembling, and closely related to, the Phoracantha genus of Eucalyptus Longicorns. Can be distinguished from those by the swollen femurs, and generally smaller and more delicate build. The 36 or so known species of Coptocercus have an Australasian distribution, and this one has established itself in New Zealand, where it attacks eucalypts.