Diet

• Adults: Primarily feed on nectar and pollen, and are frequently found visiting flowers.

• Larvae: Develop in rotting, dead or weakened wood, where they feed on decomposing woody material.

• Flowering plants provide an important food source for adults, while decaying branches and logs provide habitat for the immature stages.

Range

• Strangalia is a genus of flower longhorn beetles in the family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lepturinae, tribe Lepturini.

• Mexico supports numerous Strangalia species; the national Cerambycidae checklist recognises the genus as part of Mexico's exceptionally diverse longhorn-beetle fauna.

• Around Zihuatanejo, Strangalia should be considered occasional.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland, forest edges, scrub and areas containing flowering plants and dead wood.

• Adults are most likely to be seen on flowers, particularly during warm weather and periods of abundant flowering.

• Around Zihuatanejo, flowering shrubs and trees along forest edges, clearings and roadsides are good places to look.

• Larvae develop inside rotting logs, stumps and dead branches, so decaying woody material is important habitat even though the immature stages are rarely seen.

Size

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

• Body generally elongate and relatively slender, with long antennae and the characteristic flower-associated form of lepturine longhorn beetles.

• Colouration varies considerably among species and may include black, brown, red, orange, yellow or contrasting combinations.

• Many species have patterns that resemble wasps or other chemically protected insects, providing protection from predators.