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Cheloderus childreni
Classification
Diagnostic Features of Larvae
- Mature larva. Form rather short, stout, parallel-sided and slightly depressed. Head strongly sclerotized, ferruginous, becoming pitchy around mouthframe; distinctly narrower than prothorax (maximum head-width 5.9 mm); slightly depressed and elongate, with sides almost straight and parallel; occipital foramen elongate. Frons ferruginous, pitchy anteriorly and strongly rugose; a pair of paramedian, transverse, rather deep impressions present near front margin; four epistomal setae present. Antenna 3-segmented; basal membrane very large; segment 3 elongate, cylindrical; supplementary process acutely conical. Mandible with cutting edge bidentate and with a conspicuous setose fovea on dorsal surface near base. Labrum and clypeus strongly sclerotized and fused. Five pairs of large ocelli present, two pairs (subcontiguous) immediately behind antenna, two pairs (subcontiguous) behind these, and one pair postero-ventrad of antenna; lens large, moderately convex; pigmented spot rather indistinct. Hypostoma large, nearly as long as broad, concealed by prothoracic skin which is attached to the base of the submentum. Maxilla with segment 3 of palp stoutly conical, about half length of segment 2; lobe covered apically with dense golden pubescence and bearing several long stout setae. Labial palpi with segment l slightly elongate, at most one and one-half times as long as segment 2. Mentum not distinct from submentum, elongate, strongly produced. Prothorax about twice as broad as long; dorsally obliquely sloping, pale ferruginous; pronotum micro-spiculate, with transverse rugae; prosternum similar. Abdomen with ampullae present on segments 1-7; each dorsal ampulla with two transverse furrows, the area between and around them densely micro-granulate and micro-spiculate. Tergite 9 smooth, sparsely setose, without a sclerotized process. Anus trilobate, the lobes shining, glabrous. Legs ferruginous, with unguiculus short and stout, slightly twisted and produced apically into a small spine-like tubercle. Spiracles with peritreme rather thick, narrowly oval, testaceous. Length up to 40 mm; maximum breadth (at prothorax) 11 mm. Adapted from Duffy (1960).
Biology and Economic Importance
- Adults on plant surfaces; larvae feed on the wood of angiosperms, especially Nothofagus (Lawrence, 2007).
Selected References to Larvae Specimens
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