Family Cerambycidae - Longhorn Beetles

Longhorns, Longicorns, Capricorns, Round-headed Borers, Timber Beetles, Sawyer Beetles

Cerambycidae Latreille 1802

~1000 spp. in 300+ genera in our area(1), >11,300 spp. in almost 2,000 genera in the Western Hemisphere(2) and >30,000 spp. in >5000 genera worldwide(3)(4)

Overview of our fauna *–taxa not yet in the guide

Family Cerambycidae

Subfamily DISTENIINAE

Subfamily PARANDRINAE

Subfamily PRIONINAE

Subfamily LEPTURINAE

Subfamily SPONDYLIDINAE

Subfamily NECYDALINAE Necydalis · Ulochaetes

Subfamily CERAMBYCINAE

Subfamily LAMIINAE

3‒150 mm(3); in our area, 3‒60 mm(5)

Keys and visual guides:

Suprageneric taxa(6) • World fauna(7)(8) • Nearctic genera(3) • New World spp.(9)

worldwide (sea level to 4,200 m) • recent range updates on many species in (20)

Larval: most spp. feed within dead/dying/decaying wood, but some can use living tissue. Girdlers (adult Onciderini, larval Methiini, Hesperophanini, Elaphidiini) sever living branches/twigs, with the larvae developing within the nutrient-rich distal portion. The larvae of a few species move freely through the soil, feeding externally upon roots or tunneling up under the root crown. Adult feeding habits variable; some take sap, leaves, blossoms, fruit, bark, and fungi, often unelated to larval hosts; others take little or no food(21); feeding biology summarized here(22)

In temperate regions, typically 1‒3 yrs, but cycles of 2‒3 months to decades have been documented. Most of the lifetime is spent in the larval stage; the adults usually emerge, disperse, reproduce, and die within a few days to months. Cellulose digestion aided primarily by enzymes rather than symbiotic microorganisms. Cerambycidae are often primary borers that start the biorecycling.(21)

Eggs―Larvae―Pupae

Longhorn lookalikes: