Blosyropus spinosus

Blosyropus spinosus, also known as the spiny longhorn or spiny silver-pine borer, is a rare species of longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand.[1][2] Its Māori names include howaka and kapapa.[3]

Blosyropus spinosus
Dorsal view of a Blosyropus spinosus specimen in the Whanganui Regional Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Suborder:
Polyphaga
Superfamily:
Chrysomeloidea
Family:
Cerambycidae
Subfamily:
Cerambycinae
Tribe:
Phlyctaenodini
Genus:
Blosyropus
Species:
B. spinosus
Binomial name
Blosyropus spinosus

Taxonomy

The genus Blosyropus is often referred to within the subfamily Lepturinae, but is now considered to be in the Cerambycinae[4][5] and the tribe Phlyctaenodini.[6]

Distribution and habitat

Blosyropus spinosus has been found in forest in many areas of New Zealand.[7] Its larvae have been discovered in rotting logs of a variety of trees including tawa, Dracophyllum, pōhutukawa, manoao (silver pine), and red beech, as well as in podocarp forest.[2][8] It is a Category I (indeterminate status) Threatened Species.[9]

Male Blosyropus spinosus

Description
Head of Blosyropus spinosus in the Auckland Museum collection showing the four thorax spines.

Blosyropus spinosus is one of the largest endemic beetles in New Zealand,[10] growing to around 46mm long.[2] It is nocturnal,[7] and flightless.[2] The hing wings are shortened or completely reduced in both sexes in this genus.[6] Blosyropus spinosus is dark brown in colour with yellowish hairs on its body.[2] Its key distinguishing characteristic is the pair of spines on its head, one above each eye, and the four spines on the pronotum in front of the elytra.[8][2]

Behaviour

The adult beetle is attracted to lights.[2] Eggs are laid towards the top of the tree and the larva tunnel downwards as they feed on the rotting wood.[11] Pupation occurs in a large pupal chamber at the base of the tree.[11] This pupal chamber opens to the outside but is plugged with coarsely chewed wood that has not been digested by the larva.[11] After completing metamorphosis, the beetle may overwinter or hibernate within the pupal chamber.[11]

References
  1. "Blosyropus spinosus Redtenbacher, 1868". New Zealand Organisms Register. New Zealand Organisms Register. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. "The Conservation Requirements of New Zealand's Nationally Threatened Invertebrates" (PDF). Department of Conservation. Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  3. Miller, David (1952). "The insect people of the Maori". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 61 (1/2): 1–61. JSTOR 20703320.
  4. Duffy, BAJ (1963). A monograph of the immature stages of Australasian timber beetles (Cerambycidae). pp. 1–235.
  5. Sopow, Stephanie; Gresham, Belinda; Bain, John (2015). "Exotic longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) established in New Zealand". New Zealand Entomologist. 38 (2): 107–125. doi:10.1080/00779962.2014.993798. S2CID 86130081.
  6. Leschen, Richard A. B., Beutel, Rolf (2014). Coleoptera, beetles. Volume 3, Morphology and systematics (Phytophaga). Berlin. ISBN 9783110273700. OCLC 878076434.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  7. "Beetle (Longhorn Spiny) Blosyropus spinosus". Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network. Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  8. Crowe, Andrew (2002). Which New Zealand Insect?. North Shore: Penguin. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-14-100636-9.
  9. McGuinness, Carl A. (2001). The conservation requirements of New Zealand's nationally threatened invertebrates. Wellington, New Zealand: Biodiversity Recovery Unit, Dept. of Conservation. ISBN 0478220480. OCLC 49672723.
  10. Marris, John (24 September 2007). "Beetles - What is a beetle?". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  11. Morgan, F. David (1960). "The Comparative Biologies of Certain New Zealand Cerambycidae". New Zealand Entomologist. 2 (5): 26–34. doi:10.1080/00779962.1960.9722791.
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