Atractocerus sp. (genus)
Ship-timber beetle at Michelago, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Atractocerus sp. (genus) | KimPullen | 25 Dec 2018 | |
| Myrmeleontidae (family) | MichaelMulvaney | 24 Dec 2018 | |
| Unverified | Illilanga | 30 Nov 2018 |
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User's notes
Private property. No public access without permission. Attracted to our light.
3 comments
26 Dec 2018
Good find! These aberrant beetles are quite rare. The larvae are wood borers; the adults fly well and are sometimes attracted to electric lights.
26 Dec 2018
Thanks Kim! This one had me stumped for a long time, so I took my time before adding it to CNM. Are there any particular species of tree/shrub they prefer? Some of our acacias near the house were destroyed by unknown borers (and happy black cockies) over the past year or two.
27 Dec 2018
Information in 'Australian beetles' Vol. 1 by J.F. Lawrence & A. Slipinski (CSIRO Publishing, 2013) only says the larvae "bore into hard wood of weakened or dead trees and feed on Ambrosia fungi". The female actually carries spores of the fungus in special pouches and infects the tree as it lays eggs. Incidentally the common name comes from a European species of the family, which attacks timber used in ship building.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.156433-35.779483
- Altitude 795.3m
- Maps Illilanga & Baroona
- Places Michelago, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 19 Jan 2018 10:11 PM Recorded on
- Illilanga Recorded by
Collections
- Illilanga Completed Illilanga NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Atractocerus sp. (genus) Other beetles Beetles (Coleoptera) Insects
Species information
- Atractocerus sp. (genus) Scientific name
- Ship-timber beetle Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Rare or uncommon native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 795.34m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
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- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Additional attributes