ANOPLOPHORA MEDENBACHII

Anoplophora is a genus of beetles in the longhorn beetle family (Cerambycidae). They are native to Asia. Most are large and colorful and thus are depicted in artwork and sought after by beetle collectors. The genus also includes several notorious pest insects.

Beetles of Anoplophora are 1 to 5 centimeters in length. They are spotted or banded with a range of color patterns in shades of yellow, blue, purple, and white. They have very long antennae. One characteristic that is particularly useful for distinguishing the species from one another is the structure of the male genitalia.

In a 2002 revision of the genus, 36 species were recognized. At least one more species has been described since then.

The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae; also known as long-horned beetles or longicorns) are a cosmopolitan family of beetles, typically characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. In various members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short (e.g., Neandra brunnea, figured below) and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as Chrysomelidae.

The family is large, with over 20,000 species described, slightly more than half from the Eastern Hemisphere. Several are serious pests. The larvae, called roundheaded borers, bore into wood, where they can cause extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber (or, occasionally, to wood in buildings; the old-house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, being a particular problem indoors). A number of species mimic ants, bees, and wasps, though a majority of species are cryptically colored.