The Solomon Islands Longhorn Beetle (Batocera kibleri) is an insect in the Cerambycidae family of longhorn beetles. It is also known as the Solomon Islands Longicorn.
The Solomon Islands Longhorn Beetle has an elongated brown, mottled body with extremely long, segmented antennae. It varies in size, shape, and colour. It has brown wing cases called elytra. It has two tarsi (similar to toes) at the end of each of its six legs.
It grows to about 5 centimetres (2 inches) long.
It is native to the Solomon Islands.
The larvae feeds on plants, including stems, trunks, and roots.
The life cycle is egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The female lays 45-60 eggs, which hatch after 13-54 days into larvae (grubs) called Roundheaded Borers. The grub bores into wood and leaves holes in tree trunks. It grows in the wood and metamorphoses into an adult beetle. When each larva is ready to pupate (undergo metamorphosis), it burrows into a tunnel. It emerges after 12-50 days as an adult beetle.
Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM