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Photo#30638
Bug found on mesquite trees in S. Texas - Placosternus erythropus - male - female

Bug found on mesquite trees in S. Texas - Placosternus erythropus - Male Female
Loyola Beach, Kleberg County, Texas, USA
August 28, 2005
Size: 3/4"-1"
Discovered after a limb in a mesquite tree fell down. Very pretty black and yellow. Maybe some type of borer?

Moved
Moved from Mesquite Borer.

Tentatively moved to Placosternus erythropus based on bright red legs and location...
.

Moved
Moved from Megacyllene.

Not Megacyllene...
This mating pair of bycids are not Megacyllene sp.

Male & female?
I hope I'm not too presumptuous in labeling these male and female.

I agree...
Looks like a Locust Borer...

 
Not so fast:-)
I agree that these are longhorned beetles in the genus Megacyllene, but maybe not locust borers. There are several very similar species in that genus.

 
Another possibility
Mike Quinn (Texas state entomologist) has identified a common south Texas species as Placosternus difficilis, with the English name Mesquite Borer.
http://www.texasento.net/Placosternus.htm
I'm about to post a couple of images I took recently. Could DD's beetles be this species, rather than Megacyllene? (assuming one genus isn't a recent split from the other...)

Joshua S. Rose, Ph.D.
World Birding Center
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
joshua.rose_NO_SPAM@tpwd.state.tx.us
956-584-9156 x 236

 
Slight difference between this bug and the locust borer
The locust borer has a "W" on the back, but the one I saw does not. They are obviously related - but not the same.

 
Numerous spp.
As mentioned, there are several spp. in TX - the only one I couldn't rule out (based on typical examples seen) was M. comanchei Rice & Morris, 1992:200 - haven't seen, but many of these are quite variable.

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