Longhorn beetle

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Longhorn beetle
Musk buck (Aromia moschata)

Musk buck ( Aromia moschata )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Cucujiformia
Superfamily : Chrysomeloidea
Family : Longhorn beetle
Scientific name
Cerambycidae
Latreille , 1802

The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are a species-rich family of beetles (Coleoptera).

They are characterized by their particularly long, articulated antennae , which are often longer than their usually long, slender bodies. Since the antennae are usually curved and carried backwards, they are reminiscent of the horns of an ibex . This has led to their German name (common name ). Around 26,000 species are known worldwide, around 200 of them in Central Europe . The largest known beetle, the giant longhorn beetle ( Titanus giganteus ) from Brazil , with a body length of up to 17 centimeters (without antennae), also belongs to this group. In Central Europe, the Mulmbock ( Ergates faber ) is the largest species with a body length of around six centimeters .

The scientific name of this beetle family goes back to a figure from Greek mythology . The shepherd Cerambos was turned into a large horned beetle by the nymphs after an argument .

Appearance

The longhorn beetles are often iridescent, drawn in different colors. Here there are both very strong bright colors such as the blood red of blood Bocks ( Purpuricenus kaehleri ) or Rothaarbocks ( Pyrrhidium sanguineum ), the blue of the Alpine goat ( Rosalia alpina ) or the blue plate bracket ( Callidium violaceum Renderings) and browns and grays and as with most species. The musk billy ( Aromia moschata ) (metallic green), for example, has a metallic shimmering color , and the billy wasp (genus Plagionotus ) have a clear, black and yellow striped warning color that represents a mimicry .

Musk goat head

The bodies of the family beetles are mostly elongated; the males are often larger than the females, but sometimes vice versa. The longhorn beetles are clearly recognizable by their very long antennae, the length of which is usually more than two thirds of the body length, but is often more than body length. In the male carpenter's goat ( Acanthocinus aedilis ), which is only about two centimeters long, the antennae can be about ten centimeters long and five times the body length. The antennas can be spread sideways from the body or carried forward. Only in collections of insects are the feelers placed backwards for reasons of space.

For the very long and powerful antennae, a solid anchorage in the head capsule of the beetle and appropriate muscles are necessary for the movement of the antennae. Both take up a lot of space, leaving little room for the beetle's eyes. Therefore, the eyes of many longhorn beetles grow around the antenna base from behind.

The pronotum of many longhorn beetles is thorny. These characteristics typical of many longhorn beetles can be seen on the detailed photo of a musk buck. The foot ( tarsus ) of the longhorn beetle consists of five limbs, the fourth being extremely reduced in almost all species such as the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) and only recognizable on very close inspection. This type of tarsus is called "pseudotetramer". At the same time, the tarsus is usually very widened and hairy. The elytra are usually well developed, but can also be shortened in some cases, for example in the case of the dark-legged short-cover billy goat ( Molorchus minor ) or the approximately three centimeter large Necydalis species.

Way of life

Monochamus scutellatus oregonensis from California

The adult longhorn beetles feed on pollen , flower parts or tree sap, depending on the type ; the food is almost always purely vegetable. Other types gnaw fresh bark ( long-horned goats ( Monochamus ), hazel-line Bock ( Oberea linearis ), Small Pappelbock ( Saperda populnea )), leaves or stems of herbaceous plants ( Agapanthia , Phytoecia , Erdböcke ( Dorcadion )) or tree leaves ( Weaver Beetle ( Lamia textor ), willow ram ( Gracilia minuta )). This food is usually used for the maturation of the gonads or gonads ( ripening food ). Some species groups such as Weber goats and grass blocks take no food as adults. The American Elytroleptus species are predatory and hunt and eat red-cap beetles (Lycidae), and their taste, which is unpopular with most of the larger predators, is also likely to become inedible.

Most longhorn beetles are good fliers. Many species are able to generate noises by nodding movements of the frontmost part of the chest ( prothorax ) against the middle part ( mesothorax ). This mainly happens when there is a disturbance and is probably used to scare off potential enemies. In this case, sweeps a corrugated box at the throat plate on the edge of the Mesothorax. The great oak buck ( Cerambyx cerdo ) makes stridulating noises throughout its nightly activity. Nothorhina muricata generates noises by wedging itself into suitable crevices in the bark of pine trees and striking the bark with shaking movements of the entire body. Two or more beetles can sing alternately.

The life span of the longhorn beetle as an adult is usually very short compared to the larval period ; especially if you consider the active time without wintering. The active life of the adult animal is usually a maximum of 90 days, but in many species it is only 30 days or less.

Reproduction

A pronounced courtship does not exist with the longhorn beetles, the meeting of the partners usually happens by chance at suitable places. If a male meets a female, it rises immediately and in some species grabs the female with its mandibles by the antennae, such as the spotted narrow-headed buck ( Rutpela maculata ). Before and during copulation, the male licks the back of the female in some species of the narrow-headed goats (Lepturinae), apparently for reassurance. After mating, the female usually throws the male off and helps with her legs.

The eggs are mostly laid in or on the larvae 's food plant. The eggs with the egg-laying apparatus ( Ovipositor pushed) in cattle scribing or the substrate is pre-processed with the mandibles. The species of the genus Agapanthia gnaw a hole in the stems of the host plants - thistles and other herbaceous plants - and lay the egg there before laying their eggs . The female searches the stem for existing holes before laying her eggs and does not need to lay them down if another female has already placed an egg in this plant.

Larval development

The larvae of all longhorn beetles are pure herbivores that feed primarily on wood. Some species also live in herbaceous plants or in the soil, where they feed on roots.

Larvae in the wood

Larva of the shotgun

The larvae of most longhorn beetles feed on wood ( xylobionte larvae). They are mostly maggot-like and flat if they live under bark, or cylindrical if they dig into wood. The latter usually have strongly developed mandibles and only a short chest piece. In addition, they have caulking bulges on their bodies to allow them to move forward in the wooden passages.

The condition of the wood plays an important role for the different types. There are many species that feed exclusively on dead wood in its different phases of degradation, others need living wood. Many larvae feed under the bark of trees in the cambium or in the sapwood , but some also eat in the heartwood - for example the larvae of the great ibex ( Cerambyx cerdo ).

The heartwood-eating species often do not stop at construction timber . So infested house borer larvae ( Hylotrupes bajulus ) well-dried softwood and cause considerable damage to buildings. Since they eat inside rafters and ceiling timber and leave a thin outer wall in place, they are hardly noticed. An infestation is often only recognized when beams or planks break. The dangerousness of this pest is made clear by the mandatory reporting in various state building codes . However , some longhorn beetles are also considered wood pests in forestry . The larva of the common spruce goat ( Tetropium castaneum ) first eats under the bark in the cambial zone, but then eats its way 2–4 cm deep into the wood horizontally for pupation and then gnaws a 3–4 cm long pupa chamber in a vertical direction. The resulting hook passages devalue the wood of the infested spruce and pine trees and make a larger cut necessary. Other species also eat such hooked passages in the wood of the trees they prefer; feeding other characteristic images include the wide space transitions of the wheel rams (genus Callidium ) and the long-horned goats and deep into the wood leading transitions of the heartwood eaters. Longhorn beetle larvae are popular prey for woodpeckers in their tunnels . The small poplar ram on the branches of the trembling poplar and the linear ram on hazel branches create a special feeding pattern . Both create thickening of the branches called wooden galls .

The length of the larval period depends on the nutrient content and thus also on the condition of the wood in which the larvae live. In most species it takes one to two years. Species in the easier-to-process bast area of ​​the wood, on the other hand, develop within three to five months. Species that live in dry wood or heartwood take a particularly long time to develop. The larvae of the Mulmbock, the Greater Oak Buck and the House Buck need three to four years for their development; in extreme cases, development times of the house goat of up to ten years have also been observed.

Many wood-eating larvae of longhorn beetles harboring in their midgut symbionts in the form of yeast that give them the difficult digestion of the wood and it contains cellulose help. The enzymes required for this , the cellulases , can only be produced by some species, such as the house buck and the oak buck itself; in a large number of species, the digestion of the wood is still unclear, especially since there are no fermentation chambers . The symbionts also supply the beetle with vitamins and amino acids . They are located in pocket-like protuberances in the front part of the intestine. The protuberances are receded shortly before pupation and the microorganisms are swallowed. In males they disappear completely, in females they collect in pockets on the laying apparatus, for which Paul Buchner coined the term mycetoma . When the eggs are laid, the symbionts automatically reach the outside of the eggshells. The larvae eat parts of the shells and thus ingest the symbionts.

Larvae that do not live in wood

Longhorn beetle

In addition to wood-eaters, there are also species that live as larvae inside herbaceous plants or in the soil and eat roots there. Thus, the species of the genus eat Agapanthia in the stalks of thistles , nettles and figwort (for example, the check-horn buck ( Agapanthia villosoviridescens ) even nettle or thistle Bock called) and other carding plants (eg Agapanthia violacea ), who lives in the south Agapanthia asphodeli also in the stems of the affodill . The very slim grain longhorn beetle ( Calamobius filum ) even lives with his slender larvae in the stems of grasses . The earth buck and the representatives of the genus Vesperus or Neodorcadion bilineatum live from the roots of the grasses .

Pupation

Asiatic longhorn beetle pupa

The pupation takes place in chrysalis cradles within the Stevenage chips under the bark or in specially designed aisles in the wood. Some species also form cocoons from earth after they have left the wood, such as species of the genera Pachyta , Dinoptera , Pachytodes or the sawhorse ( Prionus coriarius ). The pupa is a form known as a pupa libera , which is characterized by the free mobility of the abdominal segments.

The young beetles gnaw their own hideout on their excursion. Hibernation usually takes place as a larva in the wood, only very rarely as a beetle.

Threat and protection

Many of the longhorn beetle species are dependent on certain wood deposits or on old wood stocks with a high proportion of deadwood . Since the larvae often lack these development opportunities, some species are threatened with extinction and are protected. In the latest version of the Federal Species Protection Ordinance, however, all native species have been placed under protection with a few exceptions. Some particularly rare in Germany are the following:

  • Bock grains ( Megopis scabricornis ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG , BArtSchV (1)
  • Mulmbock ( Ergates faber ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Villi goat ( Tragosoma depsarium ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Wasp bucks ( Necydalis ssp )
    • Large buck wasp ( Necydalis major ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
    • Panzer wasp buck ( Necydalis ulmi ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Oak bucks (Cerambycini)
    • Large oak buck ( Cerambyx cerdo ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG, FFH II and IV
    • Small oak billy ( Cerambyx scopolii ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
    • Cerambyx miles ; Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Musk ram ( Aromia moschata ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Alpine buck ( Rosalia alpina ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG, FFH II and IV
  • Blood buck / purple buck ( Purpuricenus kaehleri ); Protection status: "strict" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Variable Erdbock / Erdbock ( Iberodorcadion fuliginator ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Weaver's buck ( Lamia textor ); Protection status: "special" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)
  • Phytoecia
  • Pale old oak night buck ( Trichoferus pallidus ) Protection status: "particularly" BNatSchG, BArtSchV (1)

Neozoa

Asian longhorn beetle

Since most longhorn beetles are known to be wood dwellers, they are also at risk of being wood pests . The situation can develop particularly dramatically if longhorn beetles are transported to regions where they are not originally native ( neozoa ). Here they often have no specialized enemies and can spread accordingly in woods. One such neozoon is the Asian longhorn beetle ( Anoplophora glabripennis ), which was introduced to the American continent from the People's Republic of China via transport boxes . Because of its unspecific feeding, the beetle is becoming a real problem for the ecosystem in newly colonized areas : In the Global Invasive Species Database it is counted among the hundred most harmful invasive neobiota worldwide.

The animals live on various types of wood, such as maples , birches , walnut trees , ash trees and many more , in a rather unspecialized manner . The infestation with these beetles has resulted in thousands of trees being felled in New York , Illinois and New Jersey since 1996 ; the damage so far amounts to around 150 million US dollars . According to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, there is a risk that the beetles could spread across the United States, causing damage to the timber industry, tourism and agriculture of over $ 650 billion.

The beetle is not only feared in the USA, there is also a high level of alertness in Germany and an obligation to report when these animals appear. In 2001 the species was first found in Europe ( Braunau am Inn , Austria).

Systematics

The longhorn beetles are closely related within the polyphagous beetles ( Polyphaga ) to the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), with which they, together with seed beetles (Bruchinae), Megalopodidae and Orsodacnidae, form the taxon of the Chrysomeloidea. The closest relatives of this superfamily are then the weevil relatives (Curculionoidea).

As with most insect groups, the internal systematics of longhorn beetles has not yet been fully clarified. Phylogenetic examinations and revisions have so far existed for some genera or regionally, but not for all longhorn beetles. Classically, they are divided into different subfamilies with different numbers of genera and species (the subfamilies with species native to Europe are marked with (E)):

A detailed description of the Central European longhorn beetles can be found under systematics of longhorn beetles .

In the literature

Fortunately, Lampe did not belong to this group. Berlinism acted as an antidote here. His self-irony brought everything back into balance and left a pleasing excess. As I said, he asked to join us and "hold up his flag." Our hearts immediately fell to him, and so it went on. "Herr Lampe, you are certainly also a herb hunter?" Whoever wants to carry his cashier with honor has to leave the green drum at home. Fauna apart and flora apart. You don't believe the profound science that beetle is. A hundred and twenty longhorn beetles just in the Brieselang. That has to be done. "" Of course. But I have been told that things go hand in hand and that the 'bugging', as you say, cannot really exist without 'herbalism'. ""

- Theodor Fontane : Walks through the Mark Brandenburg , Bd. 3 Havelland, Finkenkrug

“A world of animals inhabits the old oak. The longhorn beetle in real giant specimens has nested in it by the hundreds ... "

- idem : the royal oak

literature

  • Karl Wilhelm Harde (1966): 87. Fam. Cerambycidae . In: The Beetles of Central Europe, Volume 9. - Krefeld: Goecke & Evers.
  • Carolus Holzschuh : Description of 71 new longhorn beetles from Asia, mainly from China, Laos, Thailand and India (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Description of 71 new longhorn beetles from Asia, mostly from China, Laos, Thailand, and India (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) . FBVA reports, No. 110. Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Federal Forest Research Institute, Vienna 1999, 64 pp.
  • Klaus Honomichl, Heiko Bellmann: Biology and ecology of insects. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart 1996 (CD-Rom), 1998, Spektrum, Heidelberg 2007. ISBN 3-437-25020-5 , ISBN 3-437-25890-7 , ISBN 3-8274-1769-4 .
  • Bernhard Klausnitzer , Friedrich Sander: The longhorn beetles of Central Europe. Cerambycidae. Ziemsen, Wittenberg 1978, 1981, 1983, Spektrum, Akad. Verl., Heidelberg 1996. ISBN 3-89432-474-0 .
  • Manfred Niehuis: The longhorn beetles in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland . Fauna and Flora in Rhineland-Palatinate, Supplement No. 26. Society for Nature Conservation and Ornithology Rhineland-Palatinate e. V. (GNOR). GNOR, Mainz 2001, 604 pages, ISBN 3-9807669-0-X .
  • Wolfgang Schwenke (Ed.) U. a .: Europe's forest pests. A manual in 5 volumes
  • Fritz Schwerdtfeger : The forest diseases. Textbook of forest pathology and forest protection . 4th, revised edition. Parey, Hamburg and Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-490-09116-7 .
  • Walter Weckwerth : Our most famous longhorn beetles and their meaning. For forestry, taking into account nature conservation . 2nd, unchanged edition (reprint of the 1st edition, Ziemsen, Wittenberg 1954). The new Brehm library, issue 122. Westarp-Wissenschaften, Hohenwarsleben 2004, 40 pages, ISBN 3-89432-587-9 .

Comprehensive literature lists can be found at the following web addresses:

Web links

Commons : Longhorn Beetle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sprecher-Uebersax, E. (2008): "The stag beetle Lucanus cervus (Coleoptera, Lucanidae) in art and mythology". In: La Terre et la Vie - Revue d'Ecologie Supplement 10: 153-159 - E-Text (PDF file; 274 kB) ( Memento from December 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ).
  2. ↑ 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species . Global Invasive Species Database. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on August 30, 2004 in this version .