Longhorn Beetles

Among some of the most impressive Nottinghamshire beetles, are longhorn beetles. Longhorn beetles belong to the family Cerambycidae. There are currently 67 UK species, including some accidental imports.

Several species are common and easily noticed due to their bright colouration. Most species can be distinguished by their conspicuously long antennae which gives rise to the longhorn name. They are typically long bodied and long legged beetles.

They also show a large size range and most are active by day, when the adults generally feed on nectar and often visit the flowers of Hawthorn, Dogwood and Umbellifers along woodland rides.

Longhorn larvae feed within the timber of woody plants (including that which is dead or decaying) and several species are considered pests of coniferous plantations. Larvae are also sometimes imported from abroad within loads of timber.

Scarce Cerambycidae in Nottinghamshire

In the Sherwood Forest area, longhorn beetles are regularly encountered during the Summer months. Leptura quadrifasciata, Rutpela maculata and Clytus arietis are perhaps the most regularly recorded species. The real 'jewel in the crown' has to be Saperda scalaris. It is a rare species both locally and nationally and currently holds Nationally Scarce Grade A status, meaning it has only been recorded from 16-30 10km squares since 1980. Saperda scalaris is a visually stunning beetle, but many of our longhorns are attractively marked.

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The following list of scarce Cerambycidae have been recorded from the county, but Nottinghamshire has plenty of potential for adding new longhorns to the county species list.
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		Acanthocinus aedilis Nb, Anaglyptus mysticus Nb, Aromia moschata Nb, Gracilia minuta pRDB2, Grammoptera abdominalis Na, Paracorymbia fulva RDB3, Poecilium alni Nb, Phytoecia cylindrica Nb, Prionus coriarius Na, Saperda carcharias Na, Saperda scalaris Na, Stenostola dubia Nb and Stictoplura scutellata Na. Source:- Nottinghamshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan - Appendix A: List of species of conservation concern in Nottinghamshire. S.Wright. Left:- Full grown larva of Agapanthia villosoviridescens found at the base of a hollow stem of Hogweed at Sherwood Forest CP in December 2010. It was subsequently bred through for identification purposes and emerged in late January 2011. The Cerambycidae contain some of our largest beetles, with the Musk Beetle (Aromia moschata) being our largest by far. It's size really is impressive when first seen and the only other longhorn to come close in the size race, is largely nocturnal in it's habits.
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Arhopalus rusticus is a chestnut brown longhorn, but more impressive in its size rather than colouration. The only easy way to see this beetle, is by luring them in with an MV light, but it seems a widespread species in Nottinghamshire, especially in woodland dominated by Pine. Identification and when to see them Correct identification of most species is relatively straight-forward, although, as with all insects, some degree of care has to be taken, pretty much all the species likely to be found in Nottinghamshire can be easily identified from photographs. Longhorn beetles are beetles of the Spring and Summer months and are often to be seen visiting flowers, but searching log piles in sunny situations is another productive method. There are now a total of 25 species illustrated. Several of these seem to be common and can be found in or around most Nottinghamshire woodlands. There are a few though, which we have only found within the Sherwood Forest area and there are several more species which we have yet to come across and photograph.

Rhagium bifasciatum (Fabricius, 1775)

Rhagium mordax (De Geer, 1775)

Stenocorus meridianus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Grammoptera ruficornis (Fabricius, 1781)

Leptura quadrifasciata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Stictoleptura rubra (Linnaeus, 1758)

Paracorymbia fulva (De Geer, 1775)

Alosterna tabacicolor (De Geer, 1775)

Pseudovadonia livida (Fabricius, 1777)

Rutpela maculata (Poda, 1761)

Stenurella melanura (Linnaeus, 1758)

Asemum striatum (Linnaeus, 1758)

Arhopalus rusticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Aromia moschata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Phymatodes testaceus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Poecilium alni (Linnaeus, 1767)

Clytus arietis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Anaglyptus mysticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Agapanthia villoviridescens (De Geer, 1775)

Pogonocherus hispidulus (Piller & Mitterpacher, 1783)

Pogonocherus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Leiopus nebulosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Saperda scalaris (Linnaeus, 1758)

Stenostola dubia (Laicharting, 1784)

Phytoecia cylindrica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tetrops praeustus (Linnaeus, 1758)

A checklist of Nottinghamshire Cerambycidae

Species shown with a red asterisk, are only known from historical records only

PRIONUS Geoffroy, 1762

Prionus coriarius (Linnaeus, 1758) *

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RHAGIUM Fabricius, 1775

Rhagium inquisitor (Linnaeus, 1758) *

Rhagium bifasciatum (Fabricius, 1775)

Rhagium mordax (De Geer, 1775)

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STENOCORUS Geoffroy, 1762

Stenocorus meridianus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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GRAMMOPTERA Audinet-Serville, 1835

Grammoptera abdominalis (Stephens, 1831) *

Grammoptera ruficornis (Fabricius, 1781)

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LEPTURA Linnaeus, 1758

Leptura quadrifasciata (Linnaeus, 1758)

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STICTOLEPTURA Casey, 1924

Stictoleptura rubra (Linnaeus, 1758)

Stictoleptura scutellata (Fabricius, 1781) *

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PARACORYMBIA Miroshnikov, 1998

Paracorymbia fulva (De Geer, 1775)

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ALOSTERNA Mulsant, 1863

Alosterna tabacicolor (De Geer, 1775) *

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PSEUDOVADONIA Lobanov, Danilevsky & Murzin, 1981

Pseudovadonia livida (Fabricius, 1777)

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RUTPELA Nakane & Ohbayashi, 1959

Rutpela maculata (Poda, 1761)

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STENURELLA Villiers, 1974

Stenurella melanura (Linnaeus, 1758)

Stenurella nigra (Linnaeus, 1758)

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ASEMUM Eschscholtz, 1830

Asemum striatum (Linnaeus, 1758)

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ARHOPALUS Audinet-Serville, 1834

Arhopalus rusticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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GRACILIA Audinet-Serville, 1834

Gracilia minuta (Fabricius, 1781) *

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MOLORCHUS Fabricius, 1793

Molorchus minor (Linnaeus, 1758) *

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AROMIA Audinet-Serville, 1833

Aromia moschata (Linnaeus, 1758)

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CALLIDIUM Fabricius, 1775

Callidium violaceum (Linnaeus, 1758) *

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PYRRHIDIUM Fairmaire, 1864

Pyrrhidium sanguineum (Linnaeus, 1758)

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PHYMATODES Mulsant, 1839

Phymatodes testaceus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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POECILIUM Fairmaire, 1864

Poecilium alni (Linnaeus, 1767)

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CLYTUS Laicharting, 1784

Clytus arietis (Linnaeus, 1758)

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PLAGIONOTUS Mulsant, 1842

Plagionotus arcuatus (Linnaeus, 1758) *

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ANAGLYPTUS Mulsant, 1839

Anaglyptus mysticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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AGAPANTHIA Audinet-Serville, 1835

Agapanthia villosoviridescens (De Geer, 1775)

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POGONOCHERUS Dejean, 1821

Pogonocherus hispidulus (Piller & Mitterpacher, 1783) *

Pogonocherus hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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ACANTHOCINUS Dejean, 1821

Acanthocinus aedilis (Linnaeus, 1758) *

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LEIOPUS Audinet-Serville, 1835

Leiopus nebulosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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SAPERDA Fabricius, 1775

Saperda carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) *

Saperda populnea (Linnaeus, 1758) *

Saperda scalaris (Linnaeus, 1758)

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STENOSTOLA Dejean, 1835

Stenostola dubia (Laicharting, 1784)

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PHYTOECIA Dejean, 1835

Phytoecia cylindrica (Linnaeus, 1758)

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TETROPS Stephens, 1829

Tetrops praeustus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Known introductions/accidentals

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MONOCHAMUS Megerle in Dejean, 1821

Monochamus sartor (Fabricius 1787) *

Monochamus sutor (Linnaeus, 1758) *

References:

A.G. Duff. Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles, 2008 edition.


The current status and distribution of Nottinghamshire Longhorn Beetles (pdf version)
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				The Cerambycidae represent some of Nottinghamshire's most impressive beetles. Commonly known as Longhorn Beetles, there are nearly 70 known UK species, including some accidental imports. This now out of date pdf version of the Atlas, produces up to date distribution maps of all the Longhorn beetles recorded in the county over recent years, but does list all the species we can trace as having been recorded in the county. Published January 2015


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