Bug card No. 1865 of 4,939

Giant imperious sawyer

Enoplocerus armillatus

Eats: Plants BeetlesRainforests and jungles6 legs

The giant imperious sawyer is one of the biggest longhorn beetles in the world. It has very long black antennae, pale brown wing cases and four sharp spines on each side of its front. The males are even bigger than the females and have huge jaws.

Lives in

Central and South America, from Costa Rica to Argentina and Brazil

Length

7 to 12 cm (2.8 to 4.7 in)

Top speed

about 0.88 km/h (0.55 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Better not touch

Big males have large jaws and could give a hard pinch, so look at it but do not pick it up.

What does it eat?

The adults eat fruit and love the sap that oozes from trees. The larvae bore into roots and feed on rotting material.

Photo of Giant imperious sawyer — Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 4 toy building bricks in a rowabout as long as your handcould run across a dinner table in 4.1 seconds

How big is Giant imperious sawyer compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

Giant imperious sawyer about 0.88 km/h (0.55 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Females are about 7 to 8 centimetres long, and males about 11 to 12 centimetres.

Some extra big ones have been found that were 15 centimetres long, as long as a pencil.

It is busy during the day, not at night.

It is the only species in its genus. It has no close sisters.

Its front legs are quite thick and strong.

you asked

Most asked questions about Giant imperious sawyer

?How big is the giant imperious sawyer?

Most are 7 to 12 centimetres long, and a few have reached 15 centimetres.

?Is the giant imperious sawyer dangerous?

No, but the big males have strong jaws that could pinch. It is best to just look.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Enoplocerus armillatus
Named by: Linnaeus
Group: Beetles
Family: Cerambycidae
Classification: Insecta > Coleoptera > Cerambycidae
Lives on: North America, South America
Also known as: Giant longhorn beetle, Imperious sawyer

Where the facts come from

Enoplocerus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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