Olenecamptus bilobus – Jack and the nude lady?!

This nice beetle was around 5cm long, including the antennas. It found the perfect matching background (a flowerpot) for its nice, cream white and chocolate brown body. Not sure if there are many variations or subspecies, pictures show a lot of different patch-patterns. Two beautiful red patches make this beetle looking very special! These longhorns (family Cerambycidae) are very impressive, usually slow-moving beetles. Some reach gigantic size with incredibly long antennas. O. bilobus are not very often seen in Singapore. The larvae live in deadwood and that’s where you can find adults laying eggs. And what is just a nice beetle for some, is a pest and a commercial risk for others. For those dealing with timber wood, wood munching beetles are a bit troublesome. The KERALA FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE PEECHI, THRISSUR, India, published A SURVEY OF BEETLES DAMAGING COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT STORED TIMBER IN KERALA in 1982, where our color-conscious beetle is mentioned as a risk for the wood of Artocarpus hirsutus (Wild Jack) and Lagerstroemia microcarpa (Nude Lady of the Forest!). So Jack and the Nude Lady are both trees!

Light blue background harmonizing with the cream white and crimson red highlights on the beetle, good choice my friend!

One Reply to “Olenecamptus bilobus – Jack and the nude lady?!”

  1. Inge Hülsken says:

    Hübscher Käfer

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