The Harlequin Beetle (Acrocinus longimanus), a big insect with exceptionally long forelegs (males) and a dorsal pattern like beautiful magic carpet, is an iconic creature that inspired the great Amazonian naturalist Henry Walter Bates. It is one of the largest of the longhorn beetles (family Cerambycidae) and is both exceptionally strong as well as endowed with sharp spines that make handling a dicey proposition. We occasionally find numbers of these strikingly colored beetles gathered at oozing sap from lightning-blasted trees of the genus Bagassa. Harlequin Beetles tend to fly at night and are attracted to lights. Most specimens carry tiny pseudoscorpions beneath the wing covers; these arachnids use the big beetles as modes of transport but also as a food source: they prey upon resident parasitic mites. The range includes much of Latin America in lowland rainforest. Photographed in the Peruvian Amazon, 2017. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Fenolio, Dante |
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