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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Colobothea Flat-faced Longhorn
Colobothea (Genus)

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Longhorn Beetles (Family Cerambycidae)​

-​Flat-faced Longhorn Beetles (Subfamily Lamiinae)

-Tribe Colobotheini

-Genus Colobothea


The Colobothea genus belongs to the Cerambycidae family, commonly known as flat-faced longhorn beetles. This group of beetles is recognized for its distinctive flattened face and elongated antennae, a characteristic feature of longhorn beetles. Larvae: Colobothea larvae are wood-borers, tunneling through dead or decaying wood, where they consume plant material and aid in the decomposition process. Adult beetles feed on the bark, leaves, and sometimes flowers of their host trees, but their feeding impact is generally minimal.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed within the wood of dead, dying, or weakened trees and branches, tunnelling beneath bark and through the outer wood.

  • Adults: Feed primarily on leaves, bark, pollen, nectar, and occasionally tree sap, depending on the species.

Range

  • The genus Colobothea is distributed throughout the Neotropics, from Mexico and Central America through the Caribbean and into South America.

  • Numerous species occur in Mexico, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions including Guerrero.

  • Greatest diversity occurs in tropical forests.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, woodland edges, secondary forests, forest clearings, and disturbed wooded habitats.

  • Larvae develop within dead branches, fallen logs, and weakened trees.

  • Adults are commonly found on tree trunks, branches, foliage, and occasionally flowers.

Size

  • Adult length: approximately 8–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in), depending on species.

  • Body elongated and cylindrical, with long antennae characteristic of Cerambycidae.

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