Four-Humped Flat-Faced Longhorn

Flat-faced longhorn beetle crawling on wood
Scientific Name
Acanthoderes quadrigibba
Family
Cerambycidae (longhorned beetles) in the order Coleoptera (beetles)
Description

The four-humped flat-faced longhorn has no true common name, but its markings are distinctive. The larvae of this species feed on hardwood that is quite rotten, so they play an important role in enriching the soil. The scientific name of this species, Acanthoderes quadrigibba, can be translated as the four-humped flat-faced longhorn. When handled, this beetle typically draws in its legs and plays dead.

Similar species: There are about 250 species of flat-faced longhorn beetles in North America north of Mexico.

Learn more about this and other longhorned beetles on their family page.

 

Media Gallery
Flat-faced longhorn beetle crawling on wood
The larvae of this beetle ― the four-humped flat-faced longhorn (Acanthoderes quadrigibba) ― feed on hardwood that is quite rotten. They play an important role in enriching the soil.
Donna Brunet
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Four-humped flat-faced longhorn beetle walking on a paper surface
When handled, the four-humped flat-faced longhorn typically draws in its legs and plays dead.
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Flat-faced longhorn beetle crawling on wood
Four-humped flat-faced longhorn beetle walking on a paper surface
Similar Species
About Land Invertebrates in Missouri
Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including earthworms, slugs, snails, and arthropods. Arthropods—invertebrates with “jointed legs” — are a group of invertebrates that includes crayfish, shrimp, millipedes, centipedes, mites, spiders, and insects. There may be as many as 10 million species of insects alive on earth today, and they probably constitute more than 90 percent all animal species.