Category Archives: Cerambycidae

Longhorned beetles, roundheaded woodboring beetles. About 24,000 species worldwide. Predominantly borers in trunks and branches of dead and dying woody plants. A few species attack living trees and are regarded as economic pests.

Typocerus lugubris

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

Members of the genus Typocerus are among the more commonly encountered species of the so-called “flower longhorns” (family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lepturinae) in eastern North America. In addition to the narrow-necked, broad-shouldered appearance characteristic for the subfamily, species in this genus … Continue reading →

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Nomenclatural changes in Phymatodes

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve mentioned before the considerable taxonomic challenges facing students of the family Buprestidae (jewel beetles) in North America, owing largely to fact that more than half of its species are assigned to one of just three hyper-diverse genera (Acmaeodera, Agrilus, … Continue reading →

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When is a locust borer not a locust borer?

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

…when it is a hickory borer! The hickory borer, Megacyllene caryae, is perhaps the most frequently misidentified beetle in eastern North America due to its almost perfect resemblance to the closely related locust borer, M. robiniae.  Unlike the latter species, … Continue reading →

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Hitchin’ A Ride

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

One of the more common species of longhorned beetles (family Cerambycidae) in Missouri, and throughout the eastern U.S., is Stenosphenus notatus.  Despite its commonness, however, it is a species that is easily overlooked because of its very early seasonality, emerging … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Pseudoscorpiones | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Friday Flower – Pawpaw

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

As my friend Rich and I stood in the verdent understory admiring the spectacular panicles of red buckeye punctuating the green lushness, a small brown flower on a leafless branch above me caught my eye.  “Pawpaw!” I exclaimed, perhaps partly in … Continue reading →

Posted in Annonaceae, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Papilionidae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Monday Ménage – Brachyleptura rubrica

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Ted C. MacRae

This mating pair of longhorned beetles represents Brachyleptura rubrica, one of several so-called “flower longhorns” (including the rare Typocerus deceptus) that I saw on flowers of Hydrangea arborescens last June at Trail of Tears State Park in southeastern Missouri.  Flower … Continue reading →

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North America’s most beautiful longhorned beetle

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

I’ve written a few posts in recent weeks highlighting some of the more interesting finds encountered during two visits this past July to the White River Hills region of extreme southwestern Missouri. It’s a land of extremes, with deeply dissected … Continue reading →

Posted in Cerambycidae, Coleoptera, Sapotaceae | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Typocerus deceptus in Missouri

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Ted C. MacRae

It has been fifteen years now since I published an annotated checklist of the longhorned beetles (families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of Missouri (MacRae 1994).  That publication (and a similar one on Buprestidae) was the product of eight years of collecting … Continue reading →

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