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| A Four Banded Longhorn Beetle (Leptura quadrifaciata) |
They were very hard to find information on so this post is mainly about them but some facts are about all types of Longhorn Beetles as well.
So, here are the facts:
- They are found all over the UK, Ireland, though, doesn't have many of these, They are mostly found in Northern Ireland, there's only been one or two sightings in the Republic.
- The reason we found it in Silton Forest was probably because it's a mixed woodland, the sources of information I found didn't agree on what was their favourite wood, some say coniferous while others said willow but a few seemed to agree Birch was probably their favourite.
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| A bugs eye view |
- The reason for that is because the Females usually lay their eggs on dead wood, especially the Birch.
- They spend 2 years of their life as larvae and 1 year as an adult making them live for a good-for-an-insect 3 years.
- In the Larval stage of their life they eat wood. As an adult they are pollen feeders and you will often see them on plants such as this hogweed. I found a great descriptive word for this type of flower - an umbellifer!
- You won't miss this Beetle if you are looking at the flowers of any plants because of its vibrant Yellow/Orange and Black colours.
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| Feeding on an umbellifer. |
- Their body-length is between 11mm and 19 mm but their horns look just less than double their size.
- These types of creature are an essential part of our ecosystem. The larval stage is spent inside dead wood, eating their way out, breaking it down into humus which helps more plants to grow.
Here are some links to some more information:
Hope you enjoyed,
Z.
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