Tag Archives: Longhorn beetle

Lepturopsis dolorosa

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It was overcast and cool the morning of July 25, 2026, but I went down to poke around in our overgrown, un-tended orchard to look at a parsley plant that had bloomed. Over the past few days, it had been attracting some flies I was interested in. Unfortunately, there was little to no activity of any sort to observe. I was about to walk back to the house when I spied this handsome black beetle on the bottom portion of the stalk of the lone parsley.

It was like the beetle had emerged from thin air. I know I had scanned all parts of the plant. Scoured is more like it. For days, I have been trying to find two particular flies (one a Spilomyia sp., and the other a Cylindromyia sp.). Unfortunately, neither were around. I’ll take the beetle as a win. This beetle is cool!

It’s a type of Longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae. The species is Lepturopsis dolorosa. I thumbed through my copy of Beetles of Western North America (by a great guy named Art Evans). I found my bug on page 467. The description matched. Size = about 11-12mm, head constricts abruptly behind eyes, pronotum is wider than long.

Adults are diurnal and known to feed on various spring and summer flowers. I didn’t find parsley on the list, but yarrow, ceanothus, elderberry, goldenrod, spirea, and mullein are some others listed. Beetle larvae are associated with Douglas fir. In Furniss and Carolin’s (1977) Western Forest Insects, I read that larvae in this group, formerly in Genus Anoplodera, develop in dead trees. This gives them the job of nutrient recycler! The range of geographic distribution is from British Columbia and Idaho, down to California.

The French meaning of this beetle’s name is pretty sad. Literally. Longicorne endeuillé translates to Sorrowful flower longhorn beetle. I wonder if the beetle is supposed to be sorrowful or if the flower the beetle visits is sorrowful?

Unfortunately, I did not find much in the way of information about this species on my usual go-to (bugguide.net), but I did contribute my images to the site.

Thanks for reading.

References

Evans, A.V. 2021. Beetles of Western North America. Princeton University Press. 624 p.

HARDY, G. A. 1942. Notes on some wood-boring beetles of Saanich, Vancouver Island, B. C. (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae & Buprestidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia, Victoria 39: 9–13.

No Author. Lepturopsis dolorosa. 2026. Bugguide.net https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/167043

Megasemum asperum, a Cerambycid Beetle

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Megasemum asperum, a Cerambycid Beetle

Here is a new-to-me Cerambycid (longhorn) beetle. I haven’t added one of these to my photo collection in the 15 years I’ve lived on San Juan Island, so note here that they are “UNCOMMON” and not populous in number.

This species is the only one in its genus in North America. It is Megasemum asperum. I see in perusing iNaturalist.org that there have been 67 reported observations dating back to 2007.

Location: San Juan Island, WA

ID: Megasemum asperum

From Bugguide.net –

Size: 18-25mm

Season: July to August (this is when you could see an adult)

Numbers: a single species in the New World & in NE Asia

It was described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1854

From Beetles of Western North America – “Larvae mine Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and fir (Abies). Adults are attracted to lights during the summer. Found in coniferous forests of western North America,” (Dr. Art Evans, entomologist, 2021).

Your take away message – NOT a pest. NOT a tree killer. NATIVE species! Performs important recycling of nutrients role in ecosystems allowing regeneration in our forests. Appreciate Biodiversity.

Thanks for reading!