Cedar beetle
Sandalus niger
The cedar beetle is a dark beetle from North America. It belongs to a family called cicada parasite beetles. You might spot a female sitting very still on the trunk of an elm tree.
Lives in
North America, in woods with elm trees
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people.
What does it eat?
Its larvae are thought to feed on young cicadas living underground, like others in its family.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Cedar beetle about 0.5 km/h (0.31 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
The males fly in the afternoon when it is between 15 and 30 degrees. If it gets colder than 15 degrees, they cannot move.
2
After mating, the female climbs 10 metres or more up an elm tree and lays her eggs in holes or behind the bark.
3
Both males and females can fly, but the females usually sit still on tree trunks.
you asked
Most asked questions about Cedar beetle
?Why is it called the cicada parasite beetle?
Its family is known for larvae that live on young cicadas.
?Where can I find a cedar beetle?
In North America, often sitting on elm tree trunks.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Sandalus niger
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Rhipiceridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Rhipiceridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Cicada parasite beetle
Where the facts come from
- Sandalus niger (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 Michael K. Oliver, Ph.D.. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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