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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 23, 2021 22:13:13 GMT -8
Here is the "curious" cerambycid which thought that he would play "hop-scotch" about my lighted sheet the other night. He was playing "cage-ie" and hard to get but, eventually played around too much. So, any ideas as to who he is because for me there are just TOO many different kinds of these fellows !  |
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mikeh
Full Member
Posts: 207
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Post by mikeh on Jul 24, 2021 6:30:01 GMT -8
Looks like a Monochamus
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Post by livingplanet3 on Jul 24, 2021 6:51:19 GMT -8
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 7:38:00 GMT -8
Hi Trehopr1,
That is indeed Monochamus - more specifically, Monochamus carolinensis, a female. The shape of the elytral apices and coloration combine to help ID it to species.
This genus holds a special place in my sentiments. In 1975, I was sitting at a picnic table at Mohican State Park in Ohio, during a camping trip with my parents, when a huge male Monochamus notatus goes slowly floating over my head. I can still see those beautiful antennae trailing behind it! I tossed my food, ran for the net, and captured it - the first longhorned beetle I ever collected. The next day would bring my second and third - Orthosoma brunneum and Xylotrechus colonus.
I was hooked - from general collecting to focusing on Cerambycidae in a matter of 2 days - and I never looked back! While I've continued to collect generally, the 'bycids have kept my focus all these years and I now have about 80 Cornell drawers of N.A. Cerambycidae and another 120 or so drawers of exotic material. Never know what that first bug will lead to, but I still have that specimen and will always cherish it for what that simple insect motivated me to do with my life...
Cheers!
Bandrow
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Post by 58chevy on Jul 24, 2021 7:52:45 GMT -8
Wow Bandrow, sounds like you have an amazing cerambycid collection. If it's not too much trouble, please post some pictures. Do you know a cerambycid collector named Dan Heffern? His collection rivals yours in size.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jul 24, 2021 8:18:04 GMT -8
Thank you indeed everyone for your kindness in helping to ID this specimen !
Bandrow, that is an amazing story of how you found your true purpose in life. I have always admired folks who become specialists in the taxonomy of insects.
It is through the dedicated work, passion, and personal endeavor of such individuals; that humans have learned so MUCH more about the world around them.
Also, you sound like you have an "amazing" personal collection of these beloved beetles !
Good heavens, just having 80 drawers of NA material (alone) is staggering !!
I read some years ago that the Cerambycidae of the world numbered approximately 35,000 species known. That number has had to have increased and could you tell us where that number sits approximately now ?
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 8:21:19 GMT -8
Wow Bandrow, sounds like you have an amazing cerambycid collection. If it's not too much trouble, please post some pictures. Do you know a cerambycid collector named Dan Heffern? His collection rivals yours in size. Hi 58chevy, I do know Dan well! I took my first trip to Arizona with him in 1986, but actually haven't been in the field with him since, although we've stayed in close contact for all these years. I think his collection well surpasses mine in the number of species, especially exotics. But I think if I could ever find more time to ID my exotic stuff, I could close the gap a bit! I'll try to post some images at some point. All I have at home is a phone camera and it's not so great. Are there any particular groups of 'bycids that you'd like to see? Maybe I can grab images of full drawers at some point... Cheers! Bandrow |
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 8:31:01 GMT -8
Thank you indeed everyone for your kindness in helping to ID this specimen ! Bandrow, that is an amazing story of how you found your true purpose in life. I have always admired folks who become specialists in the taxonomy of insects. It is through the dedicated work, passion, and personal endeavor of such individuals; that humans have learned so MUCH more about the world around them. Also, you sound like you have an "amazing" personal collection of these beloved beetles ! Good heavens, just having 80 drawers of NA material (alone) is staggering !! I read some years ago that the Cerambycidae of the world numbered approximately 35,000 species known. That number has had to have increased and could you tell us where that number sits approximately now ? Thanks! I think a lot of people kind of wander in life to eventually find their path, but I was lucky to hop right onto it and run from there. I know I'm lucky to have turned my hobby into my career - not something easy to have happen, and it involved as much luck as planning. I can honestly say that I rarely grumble about having to "go to work" - a regular complaint for most people. However - it can be like any job - many days involve as much mundane drudgery as anything exciting - but a bad day working on bugs is better than a good day doing almost anything else!! I honestly haven't kept up on the number of species worldwide, but the 35,000 number must be close. Recent decades have seen a lot of descriptions of new species from South America and China/Southeast Asia in particular. However, there are a few prolific workers that, IMO, are over-describing mere variants. The new "Thomas Casey"s, I fear - but time will tell... Cheers! Bandrow |
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Post by 58chevy on Jul 24, 2021 11:55:36 GMT -8
Bandrow, just pop a few pix of your showier drawers, both domestic & exotic. No need to put a lot of work into it. If you want to entertain us over a long period of time, I'd like to see the N. American families of Callichromatini, Megacyllene, Dryobini, Trachyderini, Stenaspis, Purpuricenus, Tragidion, Monochamini (Lamiini), Goes, & Saperda. I'm not asking you to photograph all these at once, just spread out over a year or so (i.e. whenever you feel like doing it). No urgency at all.
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Post by bandrow on Jul 24, 2021 12:26:49 GMT -8
Bandrow, just pop a few pix of your showier drawers, both domestic & exotic. No need to put a lot of work into it. If you want to entertain us over a long period of time, I'd like to see the N. American families of Callichromatini, Megacyllene, Dryobini, Trachyderini, Stenaspis, Purpuricenus, Tragidion, Monochamini (Lamiini), Goes, & Saperda. I'm not asking you to photograph all these at once, just spread out over a year or so (i.e. whenever you feel like doing it). No urgency at all. Sounds good! I need to do a dermestid check of the collection, so I can image some drawers as I go. Just for fun, here's a link to a new species page I just added to BugGuide with a very cool little 'bycid I finally found this past June (along with InsectNet member Ken Karns), on my 5th trip to hunt it: Plesioclytus morrisiCheers! Bandrow |
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