Brown Prionid Beetle - Orthosoma brunneum
This beetle was adorable! It was afraid of me though, and each time I touched it, it furiously rubbed it's back legs against its wings to produce a squeaking sound.
The adults feed on sap and rotting fruits. Interestingly, the larvae eat wood with fungus in it. The fungi then provide enzymes that help the larvae digest the cellulose in the wood.
Habitat: Attracted to a 395 nm LED light in a rural area
Sorry for the bad quality video, but if you turn up the volume, you can hear the squeaking sound:
''Orthosoma brunneum'' is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae, the only species in the genus ''Orthosoma''. The genus name ''Orthosoma'' was also used for a microsporidian genus. As it is pre-occupied by this beetle genus name, it has been changed to ''Orthosomella''.
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