Facing the Long-Horned Beetles
I have shot many Long-Horned Beetles (Cerambycidae) over the past half year, and found myself to be taking just side-profile and head shots of these beautiful agricultural pests. This has led to my inability to accurately identify them as most documented species are recognized by the patterns on it’s back, and rarely identified by the face.
Today’s shoot was very brief, finding only 1 long-horned beetle before the rain poured (again). This long-horned beetle has very rounded facial features, and resembles that of a baby!
#1 Side view of the long-horned beetle. It was found above eye-level resting on a leaf oddly, with it’s abdomen perched up. I thought it was a fly until I had a closer look!
#2 My favorite – head shots!
#3 This is what happens when the flash goes further than the subject
#4 Showing a little bit of the side, but still not enough details to identify it though.
#5 Final shot of this cute little guy. It took flight before I could take a record shot of it’s back though. Does anyone have it’s exact ID?
Meanwhile, here’s a short collection of long-horned beetles I’ve shot over the past half year.
#6a Handsome fella, infested with tiny mites around it’s neck
#6b Another shot of the orange-striped face
#7a A very wrinkled long-horned beetle.
#7b Rests it’s horns under the leaf
#7c The face!
#8 Black and white patterns, possibly the Xylotrechus Javanicus
#9a This long-horned beetle tends to tuck it’s horns neatly to it’s sides
#9b And yes, the face! 🙂
#10a Til this day, I’m still not sure if this is a long-horned beetle. 
#10b Yet another face shot
#11a One of my favorites, dancing on a branch
#11b Close up on it’s dimpled face
#11c Showing the length of it’s horns. 
#11d Same long-horned beetle shot at another location
#12 Citrus Long-Horned Beetle (Anoplophora chinensis), a giant at over 2 inches in length.
#13 The handsome one again, I’m using this as my forum avatar 😛
#15a Xystrocera festiva, with a beautiful orange and green-striped back 
#15b Side view, can tell that the face is relatively “flatter” than the other species
#15c And of course, the final head shot 🙂
The IDs provided in this blog post may not be the most accurate, please do let me know via the comments section below if you have the right IDs. 🙂
The complete album can be viewed here.
