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Strange Virile Bycid
Strangalia virilis LeConte, 1873
Family Cerambycidae, Subfamily
Lepturinae, Tribe Lepturini
(abdominal tip greatly expanded in
male, females are more robust overall)
Utley, Bastrop Co., TX
May 27, 2006 (B Freeman)
This wasp mimic was very active/hyper and very wary and took a good while to
nab...(2 days)...
This animal was feeding very actively on the blooms of an oregano bush and also
could be found on dill blooms as well.
It was doing its best to look like a wasp. When captured it would
attempt to "sting" you or at least make the motions of doing so.
Range: Texas and Oklahoma (Hovore et
al. 1986)
Adult Activity: May to June (Hovore
et al. 1986)
Larval Hosts: Quercus (Linsley
& Chemsak 1972)
Behavior:
Adults frequent visitors of horsemint (Monarda punctata)
in central and eastern Texas (Hovore et al.
1986). Taber & Fleenor (2003) report this species
common on Coreopsis during May and June near Bastrop, Texas.
Similar Species: There are 10 species of Strangalia (and
one subspecies) north of Mexico, four occur in Texas.
Strangalia famelica Newman
Strangalia luteicornis (Fabricius)
Strangalia sexnotata Haldeman
Strangalia virilis LeConte
Etymology:
strangal (G). Choke
viril (L). Manly
References:
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M.C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J.H. Frank. (editors). 2002.
American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press.
861 pp.
Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and
Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. 134 pp.
Hovore, F.T., R.L. Penrose & R.W. Neck. 1987. The Cerambycidae, or
longhorned beetles, of southern Texas: a faunal survey (Coleoptera). Proceedings of the
California Academy of Sciences, 44(13): 283-334, 20 figs.
Linsley, E.G. 1962. The Cerambycidae of North America.
Part III. Taxonomy and classification of the subfamily Cerambycinae, tribes
Opsimini through Megaderini. Univ. Calif. Publs Ent, Berkeley, 20: 1-188, 56
figs.
Linsley E.G. & J.A. Chemsak. 1972. Cerambycidae of
North America. Part VI. No. 2: Taxonomy and classification of the subfamily
Lepturinae. University of California Publications in Entomology 80: 1-186.
Monné, M.A. & F.T. Hovore. 2005. Electronic
Checklist of the Cerambycidae of the Western Hemisphere. 393 pp.
Taber, S.W. & S.B. Fleenor. 2003. Insects
of the Texas Lost Pines. Texas A&M University, College Station. 283 pp.
01 Dec 2008
© Mike Quinn /
Texas
Entomology / Texas Beetle Information
