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Male Cedar Beetle - Callirrhipis marmorea
This Cedar Beetle - Callirrhipis marmorea was a cool find and only saw it once but 2 of them on the same night walk.
As I tried to take picture of it, it flew away and landed on my left hand. That was quite a challenge to take a pic of it with one hand on a dSLR on a macro setting.
Was very lucky to see him with the antennae all opened up in a fan like display as they don't do that all the time. I looked up online about them, and most pictures are of it with the antennae folded but can still see that it is not just a single stalk. Since this is a male, they probably use the antennae as a way to attracts the females or using the antennae to 'feel/smell' for pheromones.
Callirrhipis marmorea is a species of Cedar Beetle from the family of Callirhipidae.
comments (18)
Posted 5 years ago
Was very happy with this shot, only got 2 shots of it. Posted 5 years ago
Posted 5 years ago
"The Feather-Horned Beetle (Callirrhipis marmorea) is a species of beetle in the Callirrhipidae family. It has a mostly southeast Asian distribution, and its larvae are known to be parasitic on cicada nymphs.
Males of this species, as shown here, brandish a pair of impressive antennae which are flabellate (or fan-like) in structure. While one might assume that this dramatic display is just for show, there is a lot more at work here!
Many arthropod antennae are covered in sensilla--tiny, hairlike sensory organs which protrude from the cuticle of the exoskeleton. These organs have many different functions, including the reception of both mechanical data (through vibration, movement, and touch) and chemical information (on migration routes, nearby enemies, food sources, and mates) from the environment! This particular fan-like form of antenna boasts plenty of surface area for these sensory structures, thus ensuring better reproductive success through the detection of female pheromones in the environment.
{Spotted in the Philippines by JungleDragon moderator, Albert Kang} #JungleDragon }" Posted 2 years ago