Texas Beetle Information

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Solitary Black Bycid

Stenaspis solitaria (Say, 1824)

Family Cerambycidae, Subfamily Cerambycinae, Tribe Trachyderini


 

Stenaspis solitaria (Say, 1824)

Kenedy Ranch, Kenedy Co., TX
May 23, 2006 (B Freeman)

I followed it for about 1/4 mile in a Polaris out on the prairie until I saw it go down in some crotons where I nabbed it.
In flight they look huge. I saw 3 more  flying way out on the coastal prairie far from trees. 


Range: Not common in South Texas, but somewhat common in the Big Bend area and extremely common in southern Arizona. (pers. com. Dan Heffern)

Adult Activity: May to October (Hovore et al. 1987)

Larval Hosts: Prosopis, Acacia (Linsley 1962)

Behavior: They love to fly around on HOT days. (pers. com. Dan Heffern)

Similar Species: There are seven species of Stenaspis, two of which range north of Mexico.

Stenaspis solitaria (Say) - Southwestern U.S. to south Texas and northern Mexico.
Stenaspis verticalis arizonicus Casey - Arizona
Stenaspis verticalis insignis (Casey) - South-central Texas to Northern Mexico

Etymology: solitari (L). Solitary

Photo: Stenaspis solitaria - Living Jewels

Biography: Thomas Say (1787 – 1834) - Wikipedia


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.

Goldsmith, S.K. 1989. Feeding Ecology and the Mating System of Stenaspis verticalis arizonicus Casey (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 62:528-533.

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. & M.A. Cazier. 1962. A note on the attraction of Stenaspis solitaria (Say) and other insects to Senecio lonilobus, a range plant highly toxic to livestock (Cerambycidae). Can. Entomol.  94(7):745-748.

Monné, M.A. & F.T. Hovore. 2005. Electronic Checklist of the Cerambycidae of the Western Hemisphere. 393 pp.

Vogt, B.G. 1949. Notes on Cerambycidae from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Pan-Pacific Entomologist 25(3):137-144; (4):175-184.


01 Dec 2008  © Mike Quinn / Texas Entomology / Texas Beetle Information