More big beetles!

In April, I had come across a large male Harlequin Beetle, Acrocinus longimanus, a beautiful longhorn beetle with ornate markings, at the Canopy Bed & Breakfast in Gamboa.  A few days ago, again at the B&B, I found another large beetle lying on its back under the house.  This time, it was an Elephant Beetle!  This was early in the morning and it had been attracted to the lights of the B&B at some point overnight.  I helped the struggling beetle right itself, then, as I have learned not to go anywhere without my camera, placed it on a stick to take some photos.  

Elephant Beetle

The Elephant Beetle, Megasoma elephas, is a large, heavy-bodied beetle of Central and South America.  It is a member of the Scarabaeidae family, a large family of beetles that includes the impressive Hercules Beetles, stag beetles, june beetles, dung beetles and many more.  Both male and female Elephant Beetles are black with a thick layer of microscopic hairs that make it appear a yellow or tan colour.  Males are 2-3 times larger than females, and have two prominent horns extending forward from their head and one from their prothorax, which are used for defense in competition for food and mates.  Elephant beetles eat sap, fruit (and are particularly fond of pineapple) and bark.  Their larvae are particularly large and live in decaying logs, taking up to 3 years to develop into adults!  The larvae are very large, c-shape and white or yellowish in colour.  Once the larvae pupate into adults, adults live for only one to three months.   

Elephant Beetle

Always something interesting to find here!

~ Jenn     

Tropical Longhorn Beetles

This morning when I arrived at the Canopy Bed & Breakfast, Danilo pointed out a beautiful male Harlequin Beetle hiding underneath the doorway.  I was so pleased to finally see one of these beetles!  This species, Acrocinus longimanus, is among one of the largest in the Americas.  It has a body length of 8 centimetres, but in addition to that, males have elongated forelegs that can be much longer than the length of their body.  Both males and females have beautiful, ornately patterned elytra with red, olive and black scrolling lines.  They are a member of the longhorn beetle family Cerambycidae, and this species in particular has rather long antennae or "horns".  This diurnal species feeds on the sap of trees and females lay their eggs in chewed out grooves on the surface of dead or dying trees.  This species is found from Mexico south through Central America and throughout the Amazon region of South America.  

Harlequin Beetle, Acrocinus longimanus

Harlequin Beetle, Acrocinus longimanus

A couple years ago, when I was working in Ecuador, I came across another impressive Cerambycid one night while camping on the reserve with some volunteers.  This is Macrodontia cervicornis, "Macrodontia" meaning "long tooth" and "cervicornis" meaning "deer antler", for the shape of the mandibles.  At first it startled us with its rapid movements on the leaves of a small shrub at the camp.  I couldn't help but get closer to get a better look, and at one point had this beautiful, yet intimidating beetle in my hand.  This is the largest species longhorn beetles, and can reach lengths of over 17 centimetres.  In addition to this, they have impressive mandibles!  This species is also one of the most widespread, found throughout the Amazon rainforest of South America.  Macrodontia cervicornis is primarily nocturnal, and feeds on plant material including sap, bark and fruits.  Its larvae are particularly enormous, reaching lengths of 21 centimetres and can bore galleries in trees over a metre long.  Most of this species' lifespan is spent in the larval phase, which can last up to 10 years!

Unfortunately due to the extent of deforestation in its rainforest habitat and long larval phase (reducing time for reproduction), as well as demand for insect collections, this species is at risk and is listed as vulnerable by IUCN.  

Macrodontia cervicornis

Macrodontia cervicornis

These large longhorn beetles of tropical America are needless to say impressive, beautiful and can open our eyes to the world of insects, their world and importance to ours.  

~ Jenn