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Taeniotes amazonum
Classification
Diagnostic Features of Larvae
- Mature larva. Form elongate, subcylindrical, tapering posteriorly. Head moderately depressed, with sides straight and distinctly converging posteriorly (maximum head-width 6.1 mm); frontal sutures indistinct; antennal foramen closed behind; mouthframe strongly and broadly sclerotized, ferruginous, with the dorsal transverse band much broader than length of clypeus; epistoma with at least ten setae; mandibles relatively stout, less than twice as long as basal width, and bearing two stout setae (and a few minute setae) on outer face. One pair of ocelli present; lens round, convex, corneous; pigmented spot indistinct. Hypostoma ferruginous, coarsely transversely striate; sutures pitchy, incurved ; gula distinct, raised. Antenna minute, 3-segmented; segment 3 subquadrate, not or scarcely longer than supplementary process, which is conical and hyaline. Labrum transversely oval and densely setose anteriorly. Maxilla with segment 3 of palp acutely conical, shorter than segment 2. Labial palpi with segment 2 about half length of segment 1. Mentum not distinct from submentum. Prothorax depressed, transversely rectangular; posterior area of pronotum broadly velvety micro-spiculate (spotted with lenticulate setal pores); anteriorly with a transverse row of long fine setae. Mesonotum and metanotum non-spiculate. Prosternum with sternellum dull, very finely micro-spiculate. Abdomen with each dorsal ampulla with two transverse furrows and four rows of glabrous, moniliform tubercles; ventral ampullae with two rows of similar tubercles. Segment 9 without a sclerotized process. Anus a transverse cleft (as in Neoptychodes). Epipleurum protuberant on all segments. Pleural tubercle elongate, without sclerotized pits. Legs absent. Spiracles with peritreme rather broadly oval, thin, pale, and without marginal chambers. Length up to 55 mm; maximum breadth (at prothorax) 10.25 mm.
Pupa. Head with vertex almost entirely visible from above, very deeply excavated and with two pairs of setae between bases of antennal tubercles, front with setae. Antennae extending to abdominal segments where they are strongly recurved and each arranged in several coils near apices of elytra. Eyes feebly convex, glabrous. Labrum rather densely setose. Pronotum with a pair of short rounded tubercles. .Mesonotum with two oblique rows (arranged in a V) of setae; scutellum rather strongly protuberant and bearing numerous setae. Metanot1m1with two oblique rows of similar setae; scutellar groove feebly transversely striate. Elytra and wings extending to abdominal segment 4. Abdomen with tergites 1-3 each with a transverse band (interrupted medially) of closely set, long, stout setae; tergites 4-6 generally with only a single transverse row of setae. Tergite 7 subquadrate, tapering posteriorly and bearing a few scattered setae on posterior half. Tergite 8 very short, transverse, bearing only two or three pairs of setae. Segment 9 short and produced dorsally into a long, vertical, spine-like process, which is sclerotized apically; ventrally it is deeply divided and spinose. Sternites glabrous. Pleura moderately protuberant. Legs with a transverse row of fine setae near apices of femora; hind femora extending to abdominal segment 6; tibiae placed obliquely to longitudinal axis of body. Functional spiracles present on segments 1-5, those on segments 6-8 being closed and probably non-functional; peritreme oval, moderately thick and very strongly raised above general level of cuticle. Length up to 35 mm.; breadth 10.5 mm. Adapted from Duffy (1960).
Biology and Economic Importance
- Members of this tribe include one of the most notorious cerambycids: the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis. In 1996, this invasive species was discovered in New York City and later in Chicago. Native to China and the Korean peninsula, ALB was accidentally imported into the U.S. via wooden shipping materials (Lingafelter & Hoebeke 2002). By 1998, ALB infestations resulted in the destruction of nearly 7,000 trees. Recently, the USDA estimated that, if left uncontrolled, ALB and other Chinese wood boring beetles could cause more than $100 billion in damage to the US economy (Meyer 2010). Accidental introductions continue, and as recently as 2011 a population of ALB was detected in southwest Ohio (USDA-APHIS 2011).
Selected References to Larvae Specimens
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