Longhorn beetle

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Cerambycidae
Ancita sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea
Family: Cerambycidae
Latreille, 1802 [1]
Subfamilies

Cerambycinae
Lamiinae
Lepturinae
Necydalinae
Parandrinae
Prioninae
Spondylidinae

The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae; also known as long-horned beetles or longicorns) are a cosmopolitan family of beetles, typically characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. In various members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short (e.g., Neandra brunnea, figured below) and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as Chrysomelidae. The family is large, with over 20,000 species described, slightly more than half from the Eastern Hemisphere. Several are serious pests, with the larvae boring into wood, where they can cause extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber (or, occasionally, to wood in buildings; the old-house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, being a particular problem indoors). A number of species mimic ants, bees, and wasps, though a majority of species are cryptically colored. The rare giant long-horned beetle (Titanus giganteus) from northeastern South America is often considered the largest (though not the heaviest, and not the longest including legs) insect, with a maximum known body length of just over 16 centimeters.

Contents

[edit] Classification

As with many large families, different authorities have tended to recognize many different subfamilies, or sometimes split subfamilies off as separate families entirely (e.g., Disteniidae, Oxypeltidae, and Vesperidae; [1]); there is thus some instability and controversy regarding the constituency of the Cerambycidae (e.g [2]). There are few truly defining features for the group as a whole, at least as adults, as there are occasional species or species groups which may lack any given feature; the family and its closest relatives, therefore, constitute a taxonomically difficult group, and relationships of the various lineages are still poorly understood[2]

[edit] Notable species

Decora Longicorn, Amphirhoe decora

[edit] See also

[edit] Selected photos

Jacobs65.jpg

Locust borer
Megacyllene robiniae (Förster, 1771)

Red milkweed beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus (Förster, 1771)

Neandra brunnea (Fabricius, 1798)

Aromia moschata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tylosis maculatus LeConte, 1850

Prosoplus bankii (Fabricius, 1775)

Acrocinus longimanus

Batocera rufomaculata

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cerambycidae (TSN 114497). Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. ^ Arnett, et al. (2002) American Beetles, Vol. 2. CRC Press, 861 pp.

[edit] Further reading

  • Monné, Miguel A. & Hovore, Frank T. (2005) Electronic Checklist of the Cerambycidae of the Western Hemisphere. PDF Cerambycids.com

[edit] External links

Search Wikispecies Wikispecies has information related to: Cerambycidae
Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cerambycidae


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