black-winged long-horned beetle

(Brachysomida nigripennis)

Conservation Status
black-winged long-horned beetle
Photo by Babette Kis
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Black-winged long-horned beetle is a small flower longhorn beetle, ¼ to 7 16 in length. The overall coloration is highly variable, making identification difficult.

The head may be entirely black, orange with a black stripe between the eyes, or entirely orange. The compound eyes are always black. The face slants forward or is nearly vertical. The antennae are long, black, thread-like, and at least half as long as the body. The base of each antenna is not surrounded by the compound eye.

The upper thoracic shield (pronotum) is bell-shaped, narrow at the front, widest at the base. It may be entirely black, orange with two small or large black spots, or entirely orange with no black markings.

The hardened wing covers (elytra) taper evenly from the base to the blunt tip, making the body appear broad-shouldered. They may be all black or black with a pale longitudinal stripe from the shoulder to the tip and a pale stripe at the inner margin where the elytra meet. The stripes may be narrow and well-defined, broad and diffuse and almost completely obscuring the black background, or anywhere in between these two extremes.

On each leg the third and largest segment (femur) is orange with black at the tip and the base. The fourth segment (tibia) is black. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, is black. The tarsus has five segments but the fourth segment is minute and is concealed within the lobes of the heart-shaped third segment, making it appear that there are only four segments.

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Until recently, this species name was considered a synonym of Brachysomida bivittata. In 2017 it was raised to a separate species. Neither a key nor a technical description of Brachysomida nigripennis was available at the time of this writing. The description above is of Brachysomida bivittata.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: ¼ to 7 16

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

April to July

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Nectar and/or pollen of flowers

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.

 
         
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Coleoptera (beetles)  
 

Suborder

Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles)  
 

Infraorder

Cucujiformia  
 

Superfamily

Chrysomeloidea (leaf beetles and allies)

 
 

Family

Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles)  
 

Subfamily

Lepturinae (flower longhorn beetles)  
 

Tribe

Rhagiini  
 

Genus

Brachysomida  
       
 

Superfamily
A mitochondrial DNA and phylogenetic analysis of Cerambycidae and related families in the superfamily Chrysomeloidea was published in 2020. It showed that Cerambycidae evolved before Chrysomeloidea, and therefore should be placed in its own superfamily Cerambycoidea. However, there is no evidence that the resulting family would be composed of a common ancestor and all of its lineal descendants (monophyletic). For that reason the move has not been widely accepted. iNaturalist accepted the move. BugGuide did not.

Species
Until recently, this species name was considered a synonym of Brachysomida bivittata. In 2017 it was raised to a separate species.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Brachysomida bivittata var.nigripennis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

black-winged long-horned beetle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Elytra

The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.

 

Femur

On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

Tibia

The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Babette Kis

 
 

Brachysomida nigripennis Flower longhorn beetle

Brachysomida nigripennis, flower longhorn beetles on Golden Alexander flowers. Photos were taken May 30, 2022 at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI.

… two pictures of the subject beetle. The same species, one black …

  black-winged long-horned beetle  
           
 

… and the other with black and rust colored stripes.

  black-winged long-horned beetle  
 

Alfredo Colon

 
    black-winged long-horned beetle   black-winged long-horned beetle  
           
    black-winged long-horned beetle      
           
 
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  Babette Kis
5/30/2022

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Brachysomida nigripennis, flower longhorn beetles on Golden Alexander flowers. Photos were taken May 30, 2022 at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI.

black-winged long-horned beetle  
  Alfredo Colon
Summer /2018

Location: Woodbury, MN

black-winged long-horned beetle  
           
 
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Created: 12/31/2019

Last Updated:

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