Fun Longhorn Beetle Facts For Kids

Longhorn beetles, also known as longicorns, are a huge family of beetles with various subspecies. Most species of longhorn beetles are distinguished due to their long antennae. The naming of this beetle is quite interesting as it is derived from Greek mythology. The story consists of Cerambus, a shepherd, who fought with nymphs and was converted to a large beetle with horns as punishment. These longhorn beetles have a negative impact on the human economy and there are active efforts to eradicate these insects as they are considered to be pests. Their affinity for wood and boring holes in wood structures causes a lot of problems for human beings. One of the most well-known and commonly seen longhorn beetles is the Asian long-horned beetle (whose scientific name is Anoplophora Glabripennis) which is found all over the United States of America.

If you liked this article with interesting longhorn beetle facts, check out these articles with great facts about water beetles and paper wasps.

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What type of animal is a longhorn beetle?

Longhorned beetle is a type of beetle and it has many further types and species of beetles.

What class of animal does a longhorn beetle belong to?

Longhorned beetles belong to the Insecta class of animals.

How many longhorn beetles are there in the world?

Longhorned beetles are one of the most widely common beetles throughout the world and it has not been possible yet to estimate their exact population.

Where does a longhorn beetle live?

There are seven or eight types of longhorn beetles that are dispersed throughout the world. Today, some of the main types of longhorn beetles are found in trees in the continents of New York, North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. They are extensively found throughout the United States of America.

What is a longhorn beetle's habitat?

The various species of longhorned beetles mostly flourish in dense woodlands, trees, and forests where they get ample trees to feast on. They can also be found in urban or rural areas where there are many wooden houses and trees in which these pests can thrive.

Who do longhorn beetles live with?

Longhorn beetles mostly live in trees with their own type in large groups.

How long does a longhorn beetle live?

Male longhorn beetles live for approximately 50 days once they are fully hatched. The female longhorn beetles live for around 66 days.

How do they reproduce?

The longhorn beetle has a unique reproduction process. The females may mate with many males multiple times. The mating process occurs on branches of trees and barks of trees during the afternoon. The female longhorn beetle lays approximately 32 eggs over an 11 day period one at a time. These eggs hatch in 11 days to turn into larvae. Female longhorn beetles may produce 30-80 larvae in their lifespan.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN, the risk of extinction for many species of longhorn beetles is unknown. The insects of the family of Cerambycidae have not yet been studied to understand their exact population. However, IUCN has studied the Rosalia Longicorn, a species of Longhorn Beetle found in Europe, and considers it to be a part of the Not Extinct category.

What do Longhorn Beetles look like?

Different species of longhorn beetles look different but they all share the common physical trait of extremely long antennae. The Asian longhorn beetle has a completely black-colored body with white markings on the lower part of their bodies. Long-jawed longhorn beetles also have a black and yellow body. The long-jawed longhorn beetle in South America has a matte black body and is quite possibly the largest of the species. Some longhorn beetles are also multi-colored and have various colorful patterns on their bodies.

How cute are they?

Longhorn beetles are not cute at all! They look like typical insects with their narrow legs and a thick middle portion. Their beady eyes and long antennae make them look even more strange. You might look at them sitting on a plant from afar and marvel at their unique body colors, but you may not call them cute.

How do they communicate?

Longhorn beetles primarily communicate with each other through chemical cues. They communicate through visual channels and chemical channels such as emitting pheromones.

How big is a longhorn beetle?

The length of a longhorn beetle usually varies between 0.7-1.3 in (2-3.5cm). Their antennae are often twice the size of their bodies. However, different species of the insect vary in their length and height and the long-jawed beetle can be as large as 16cm! The dwarf lantern shark is almost ten times the size of a longhorn beetle.

How fast can longhorn beetles move?

Longhorn beetles cannot move very fast but they can fly for a short distance easily.

How much does a longhorn beetle weigh?

Different species of longhorn beetle differ in their weight but the average weight of this species is quite small and can be estimated to 0.0011-0.0015 lb (0.0005-0.0007 kg).

What are their male and female names of the species?

Longhorn beetles do not have separate names for males and females of their species. Therefore, scientists usually distinguish between them by calling them male longhorn beetles or female longhorn beetles.

What would you call a baby longhorn beetle?

A baby longhorn beetle does not have a separate name. Like other species of beetles, baby longhorn beetles are also considered to be larva or larvae if there are many. Once the female longhorn beetles lay the eggs, they hatch into larvae. After that, the larvae slowly develop into pupa.  

What do they eat?

The larvae of longhorn beetles feed on the wood of the tree where they are located in. Longhorn beetles feed on different types of plants, trees such as poplar tree, birch tree, willow tree, elm tree, maple tree, horse chestnut tree, and ash tree. The species of Longhorn beetles also feed on plants like short shrubberies, leaves of trees, plant twigs, and wood bark of young trees.

Are they harmful?

Longhorn beetles are not harmful to human beings but they can cause massive destruction to their homes. In North America, where many houses are made out of wood, longhorn beetle infestation can cause great damage to the structure of the house. Since this insect feeds on wood, it can easily create nests inside these houses without the owners even realizing that they have an infestation problem for a long time. Therefore, this pest may cause quite some damage to any object made of wood. The only way to get rid of longhorn beetles is to eliminate the infested areas of the wood and pray insecticide regularly.

Would they make a good pet?

Longhorn beetles do not bite or sting human beings but they do not make a good pet either. The different species of this insect mostly prefer to live in trees and feast on wood so it would not be ideal to keep these pests at home. It is not easy to treat this insect like a pet so it is better to leave them be.

Did you know...

There are many interesting longhorn beetle facts for kids. Most longhorn beetles completely evolve from eggs to developed insects during the metamorphosis process. They pupate in a chamber in the tree bark for a long time. Some larvae usually require one to 2-3 years to mature from eggs. Some larvae can even be inactive inside the wood chamber for many years. There have actually been events when fully formed longhorn beetles have emerged from eggs after remaining inactive after 20 years.

History of the longhorn beetle

It is not known where the original Longhorn Beetle is from or why it was introduced. However, the most well-known history of a type of longhorn beetle is that of the Asian longhorn beetle which was originally from the Asian countries of China, Japan, and Korea. They traveled to the United States of America accidentally through the wood packaging of containers that were shipped from Asia. Today, the Asian longhorn beetle and other longhorn beetles are a pest and its larvae is a huge nuisance as it destroys different plant and trees in the country.

Different types of longhorn beetle

The different types of longhorn beetles that can be found in different parts of the world are - Asian longhorn beetle (which is one of the most commonly found beetles), giant longhorn beetle, long-jawed longhorn beetle, flower longhorn beetle, and rosalia longhorn beetle. Another type of longhorn beetle is the Valley Elderberry beetle which is currently endangered according to US standards because of destructive human activities which have ruined its habitat. While all these beetles are borers and share similar characteristics - Asian longhorn beetle facts, giant longhorn beetle facts, long jawed longhorn beetle facts are all very interesting!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods including the green June beetle or the atlas beetle.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our longhorn beetle coloring pages.