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Longhorn laying into stone?

Phoracantha semipunctata

Photo by Mark Ridgway
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

This beetle was about 32mm body length and doing something weird to a brick wall. It seemed to have an ovipositor inserted into a small hole in the brick wall which it writhed and pulsed for at least 10 minutes. Why would it not find some timber if it was laying eggs ..or did it just need a good scratch.

Habitat:

Under strong night lighting at the local school.

Notes:

Yet to confirm species.... <br>
family: CERAMBYCIDAE <br>
subfamily: CERAMBYCINAE <br>
tribe: Phoracanthini <br>
Distribution http://spatial.ala.org.au/?q=lsid:%22urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.t…

Reference Links:

Eucalyptus Longhorned Borer (Phoracantha semipunctata) - Information on Eucalyp…, Phoracantha semipunctata, NZ Farm Forestry - PHORACANTHA LONGHORN BEETLES IN NEW ZEALAND

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)
StephenSolomons
Three little pigs. She didn't want this little house blown down I guess. Finding the surprise chunk of concrete with the correct size hole might be the habitat serendipity that gives her the survival bonus this time around
Mark Ridgway
Thanks Stephen. We like unusual happenings and the interconnectedness of things. I was thinking there might be some fragment of timber buried in there. I took a little movie of it but it's too frustrating to watch. Do you think I should have moved her to a tree? Probably too late by then anyway. :(
StephenSolomons
The hole might have been too perfect to ignore. You two have had some wonderful finds!

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Beetles of Southeastern Australia
Mission
Global Schoolyard Bioblitz!
Mission
Beetles!
Mission
Longhorn Beetles (Global)
Mission
Upper Ferntree Gully Primary School

Tags

Photographed
PublishedApril 6, 2014

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