Tiger longhorn
Aridaeus thoracicus
The tiger longhorn is an Australian beetle with bold orange and black patterns, a bit like a tiger. Each of its legs bulges in the middle, and it has orange hairs on its legs and body.
Lives in
Australia, and also New Zealand, where people brought it
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a flower-visiting beetle that does not sting.
What does it eat?
Grown-ups eat pollen and drink nectar from flowers. The larvae feed on dead wood.
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)
Tiger longhorn about 0.4 km/h (0.25 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In the warmer months you can see it on flowers, especially plants of the myrtle family.
2
Its larvae grow up inside dead wood of trees like eucalyptus and mangroves.
3
People have also brought it to New Zealand.
4
It was first described by the naturalist Edward Donovan in 1805.
you asked
Most asked questions about Tiger longhorn
?Is the tiger longhorn dangerous?
No. It is a harmless beetle that visits flowers.
?What does the tiger longhorn eat?
Grown-ups eat pollen and nectar from flowers. Its larvae eat dead wood.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Aridaeus thoracicus
- Named by
- Donovan, 1805
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Cerambycidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Cerambycidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
- Also known as
- Tiger longicorn
Where the facts come from
- Aridaeus thoracicus (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 Toby Hudson. CC BY-SA 2.5 au, 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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