Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

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boghaunter1
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

I believe this interesting little cerambycid is from S. Am. (Brazil?)... I.D.?

$(KGrHqMOKpwFJgF3B3h)BSc-Y1G2oQ~~60_57.jpg
$(KGrHqMOKpwFJgF3B3h)BSc-Y1G2oQ~~60_57.jpg (103.74 KiB) Viewed 2621 times

Please bear with me :roll: I am going to ask a really strange question to all the beetle experts out there. Many years ago I thought I saw/read somewhere on the internet that there was a cerambycid that could actually inject venom, for protection from predators, from the sharp tips of their long antennae? Was I just dreaming/imagining such a weird thing or does such a beetle actually exist?... is the above beetle, per chance... that mythical beast? It certainly has very sharpened antennae tips.

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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by Panacanthus »

It does exist, but it’s not the beetle in your photo. The species is Onychocerus albitarsis. Quite remarkable!


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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

Thank you very much Panacanthus, for solving yet another long standing mystery to me (& proving my memory is still intact!). ;) Quite remarkable indeed... is it the only known beetle species, to have this unique protection system or are there other spp? Where is it found & what is it's status/rarity? Any ideas, at all, on the I.D. of the beetle I thought, mistakenly, might be the one with poison injecting antennae?

John K. :geek:
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by adamcotton »

Here's the Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onychocerus_albitarsis

Onychocerus albitarsis

Onychocerus albitarsis is a relatively rare species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae from the Amazon and Atlantic forest regions in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and southern Peru.[2][3][4] It is remarkable for being the only known beetle that has a venomous sting (as opposed to spraying toxins like bombardier beetles or secreting toxins from the body like blister beetles) and the only known arthropod that stings with its antennae.[2][3] Each antenna ends in a stinger that has evolved to resemble a scorpion's tail and it is connected to a venom gland.[2][3] The sting was already reported in 1884 but researchers thought the pain only was caused by the sharpness of the antennae, as also known from some other beetles. It was only confirmed in 2005 that it is venomous when a biologist was stung, comparing it to a bee sting, and subsequently studied it in detail.[3] In the first of two other cases where the identity of the stinging insect was confirmed to be this beetle, a woman experienced significant pain directly after the incident, and redness and itching at the sting site that lasted for a week. In the other case a man experienced moderate pain directly after being stung and redness that only lasted for an hour.[2] The other species in the genus Onychocerus appear to not be venomous since they lack the structures inside the antennae that are associated with the venom apparatus of Onychocerus albitarsis.[3]

Onychocerus albitarsis is about 2 cm (0.8 in) long and has a variable mottled pattern in yellow-brown, black and white. Little is known about its behavior, but it is phytophagous.[2]

References
1. Bezark, Larry G. A Photographic Catalog of the Cerambycidae of the World Archived 2018-08-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
2. Amaral, A.L.S.; Castilho, A.L.; Borges De Sá, A.L.; Haddad, V. Jr. (2019). "Envenomations in humans caused by the venomous beetle Onychocerus albitarsis: Observation of two cases in São Paulo state, Brazil". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
3. Berkov, Amy; Rodríguez, Nelson; Centeno, Pedro (15 Nov 2007). "Convergent evolution in the antennae of a cerambycid beetle, Onychocerus albitarsis, and the sting of a scorpion". Naturwissenschaften. 95 (3): 257–61. doi:10.1007/s00114-007-0316-1. PMID 18004534. S2CID 30226487.
4. Tirant, S.L.; Limoges, R. (2016). "First record of Onychocerus albitarsis Pascoe, 1859 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Anisocerini) from Paraguay". Dugesiana. 23 (2): 120.
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

Thank you very much Adam for those answers... very interesting info & much appreciated. I'll try not to waste people's time, in the future, with research I could do myself. I just find this topic/beetle absolutely fascinating & enjoy the online banter/discussion over what can definitely be called one of the world's rarest & "Weirdest" beetles.

John K. :geek:
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by bandrow »

Nice specimens! Doliops is a very cool group indeed!

The smaller, roundish species in your images is Anisocerus stellatus, in the lamiine tribe Anisocerini. The larger spiny ones are Polyraphis spinosa in the lamiine tribe Polyraphidini.

Cheers!
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by bandrow »

Hi boghaunter1,

Your round green cerambycid that you suspected to be the "stinging" species is a species of Cyclopeplus, and I believe it is probably Cyclopeplus peruvianus. This is a genus that has eluded me - the few I've seen available were out of my tax bracket!

Some of the species of Eburia, like Eburia stigma from the Florida Keys, have long spines on the femora and elytral apices, and when one handles them, they freeze into a position with all legs pointing outward (like a Chinese throwing star). This makes them hard to pick up without being impaled, but it's purely mechanical, no venom is involved. I do believe that Onychocerus albitarsis is the only species of beetle known that has poison glands and the ability to inject that poison, from the tip of the antennae no less! But considering the sheer number of beetle species, I'd bet something else out there is doing something as bizarre...

Cheers!
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by bandrow »

Forgot to mention - Onychocerus and Cyclopeplus are in the same tribe, Anisocerini.

Here is another spectacular species in the tribe, Hoplistocerus refulgens (image from Larry Bezark's Cerambycidae Catalog site):
Hoplistocerus_refulgens.jpg
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And one more - the only species of the tribe present in the United States, Thryallis undatus, restricted to the extreme southern tip of Texas (image also from the Cerambycidae Catalog website):
Thryallis_undatus.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

A few more "Weird" Cerambycids,

From S. Vietnam -I.D.?

Cerambycid from S. Vietnam - STRANGE.jpg
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Cosmisoma plumicorne - Ecuador

Cosmisoma plumicorne - Ecuador.jpg
Cosmisoma plumicorne - Ecuador.jpg (31.73 KiB) Viewed 2536 times

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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by bandrow »

Very nice - I'd love to see these alive to see how they move those antennae...
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by livingplanet3 »

boghaunter1 wrote: Sat Mar 18, 2023 7:14 pm A few more "Weird" Cerambycids,

From S. Vietnam -I.D.?...
Looks reminiscent of the genus Coremia from South America; must be something else though, if from Vietnam. The plumes on Coremia are on the hind legs, not the antennae.
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

Some nice, unusual, leaf-footed Cerambycids,

Phyllocnema xanthopelma, Tanzania, only 18mm long,

Phyllocnema xanthopelma. 18mm, Tanzania.jpg
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P. gueinzii, male, blue-green fm., Tanzania

Phyllocnnema gueinzii, Male, blue-green fm.,Tanzania.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

Additional leaf-footed Cerambycids,

Phyllocnema mirifica - Tanzania

Phyllocnema mirifica, Tanzania.jpg
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More Phyllocnema xanthopelma - Tanzania

Phyllocnema xanthopelma -Tanzania.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

A rather curious, very rare, Cerambycid from Peru - Lamiinae - Ites plagiatus (asking price $365.00USD!). What was this little beetle mimicking?... looks like a tortoise beetle :?

Cerambycidae - Lamiinae - Ites plagiatus - Peru - Very RARE $365.00+ USD.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by livingplanet3 »

boghaunter1 wrote: Sun Mar 19, 2023 1:14 am A rather curious, very rare, Cerambycid from Peru - Lamiinae - Ites plagiatus (asking price $365.00USD!). What was this little beetle mimicking?... looks like a tortoise beetle...
True - this certainly appears to be mimicking a tortoise beetle, probably one in the genus Eugenysa -

Image
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

An unusual Cerambycid (above no data) & a beautiful pr. (below) of the lovely blue Cerambycids - Pseudomyagrus waterhousei from Malaysia

$(KGrHqUOKpQE7I64D,Y9BS(jYF7gHQ~~60_3.jpg
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Pseudomyagrus waterhousei - pr. - Malaysia.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by boghaunter1 »

Very cool (& fragile looking!) spider mimic Cerambycids pr. from Thailand

Cerambycid Beetle. Spider mimics pr, Thailand.jpg
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No I.D. from Buru Isl. - Check out those antennae!

Unknown - Buru Island.jpg
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by Paul K »

boghaunter1 wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 8:30 pm Very cool (& fragile looking!) spider mimic Cerambycids pr. from Thailand


Cerambycid Beetle. Spider mimics pr, Thailand.jpg





John K.
Cerania bosci.
This is quite common species in Thailand.
The males resemble a drone, they fly slowly with the legs wide stretched in all direction. Easy to net it in flight however yes the legs are quite fragile and easy to brake off.

This might be a model: Nephila maculata
It is very common species of orb spiders, quite large as palm of the hand. It is not surprising to walk in once web hiking along the forest path.

The photo is from the web and it is for educational purpose only
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by adamcotton »

Paul K wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 9:37 pm Cerania bosci.
This is quite common species in Thailand.
The males resemble a drone, they fly slowly with the legs wide stretched in all direction. Easy to net it in flight however yes the legs are quite fragile and easy to brake off.
In season I see these flying slowly around my garden. They look really rather strange moving forwards rather slowly, almost hovering, unless they are disturbed when they can move faster.

Adam.
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Re: Cerambycidae of "weird " appearance

Post by Eleodes »

I'm surprised the genus Prionocalus hasn't been mentioned yet. It's strange enough that I've seen specimens being sold as Lucanids. Here's my specimen.


Another very uncerambyid-looking Cerambycid is members of the subfamily Parandrinae (sometimes placed as the tribe Parandrini within the subfamily Prioninae).
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/99678272

And let's not forget the various ant-mimicking Cerambycids. My favorite one I've collected is Euderces pini, they look and act very convincing when alive (less so when dead)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/99518666

I also love the members of the genus Moneilema, they feed on cacti and mimic Teneb beetles (or Latrodectus spiders).
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