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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Long-horned and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae) » Flat-Faced Longhorns (Lamiinae) » Moneilemini » Cactus Long-horned Beetles (Moneilema)
Photo#256462
Moneleima sp. - Moneilema
Copyright © 2008 Arlo Pelegrin

Moneleima sp. - Moneilema
Southwest Research Station, Cochise County, Arizona, USA
August 1, 2008
Size: 25mm
Head-down in cactus flower
Contributed by Arlo Pelegrin on 4 March, 2009 - 1:35pm
Last updated 5 March, 2009 - 1:07am

judging from
appearance and location, I'd say likely M. gigas, but that's an educated guess, not a reliable identification. It is probably eating down into the new tender green growth at the stem apex. The cactus appears to be Echinocereus arizonicus or E. coccineus (Claretcup Cacti - with bright red cup-shaped flowers). These beetles are more often found on Cholla or Pricklypear, but they will eat any cactus (and even Portulaca and Talinum) in a pinch.
… David J. Ferguson, 4 March, 2009 - 4:30pm

ID
A stink beetle mimic in Moneilema (Cerambycidae).
… Andy Calderwood, 4 March, 2009 - 3:11pm

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