Longhorn Beetles

Trigonarthris subpubescens
Trigonarthris minnesotana

I have always found that finding beetles is one of my greatest satisfactions. And finding longhorn beetles is even more satisfying. I have managed to find five different species here over the years. Some I have only found once, but the flower beetles seem to be easiest to find. 

Longhorn beetles, like longhorn bees, have antennae lengths that meet or exceed the length of the body of the insect. Some of the longhorns are considered pests, but the flower longhorn beetles are beneficial. Knowing which is a flower longhorn and which is not can be very tricky.

The larvae of flower longhorn beetles live in dead trees in the forests. They bore through the wood and eat it, helping to speed up decomposition. The adult flower longhorns eat pollen from usually species specific flowers, thus helping to pollinate our world. 

In fact, all longhorn beetle larvae, flower longhorns or not, bore through wood. It is the non-flower longhorns that can cause problems because they may bore through live trees and perhaps kill them.

The flower longhorn beetle at the top of this post, Trigonarthris subpubescens, has two scientific names and no common name. "Larvae develop in decaying branches of conifers and hardwoods. Adults found on flowers and leaves of shrubs in summer. Maritime Provinces and Québec to Florida, west to Manitoba, Minnesota, and Missouri." (Evans, Arthur V.. Beetles of Eastern North America (Page 400). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.) I found it on a daylily.

Mottled Longhorned Beetle (Anthophylax attenuatus)

The mottled longhorned beetle "[l]arva develops in wet, decaying logs of maple (Acer), beech (Fagus), and cottonwood (Populus), also in living branches of spruce (Picea); pupates in soil. Adults active late spring through summer, found on male pine (Pinus) strobili (cones). Maritime Provinces to northern Virginia, west to Ontario and Wisconsin." (Evans, Arthur V.. Beetles of Eastern North America (Page 392). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.)

Banded Longhorn Beetle (Typocerus velutinus)

The lovely banded longhorn beetle above "visit[s] flowers in late spring and summer. Larvae develop in deciduous hardwoods, including oak (Quercus), hickory (Carya), beech (Fagus), and cottonwood (Populus). Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Saskatchewan, Minnesota, Kansas, and Mississippi." (Evans, Arthur V.. Beetles of Eastern North America (Page 400). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.) I find them most often on goldenrod. It is my second most common longhorn beetle.

Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus)

The cute, vivid, and most common of my longhorn beetles is not a flower longhorn. Red milkweed beetle "[l]arvae develop in roots of milkweeds (Asclepias) and dogbane (Apocynum). Adults active late spring and summer, found on host plants. Québec and Ontario to Georgia, west to North Dakota, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas." (Evans, Arthur V.. Beetles of Eastern North America (Page 428). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.)

Round-necked Longhorn Beetle (Clytus ruricola)

The round-necked longhorn beetle also is not a flower longhorn. "Adults are found resting on vegetation in late spring and early summer. Legless larvae develop in decaying hardwoods, especially maple (Acer). Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to South Carolina, west to Manitoba, Wisconsin, and Tennessee." (Evans, Arthur V.. Beetles of Eastern North America (Page 406). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.) I have never been able to find information on what else these adults may enjoy. We found this beetle inside a leaf that had aphids inside, seen in the photo. It seemed disoriented (from honeydew?) so we were able to move it from the leaf for photos until it recovered its senses and flew away. The other little bug inside the leaf besides the longhorn and the aphids is the larva of a lady beetle, which was eating the aphids.

The Round-necked longhorn beetle dangling out of
rolled leaf of aphids, presumably imbibing honeydew.

I hope many of you are fortunate enough to find a longhorn beetle and observe its behavior. 

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