The Beetles (Episode 1): Rosalia lateritia
Star : Rosalia lateritia
Date 27th August 2023
Common Name English : Red longhorn beetle
Common Name Hindi (Kumaon) : Kharsu Kyir / खरसु क्यिर
- Kharsu (खर्सु refers to the Brown Oak (Quercus semecarpifolia) which this beetles seems to inhabit. Kyir translates to Keeda or a generic word, in Hindi, for insect.
Beetle Image : Trilok Singh Rana on Inaturalist
Video
- This video has sound
Introduction to "The Beetles"
"John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney are the most well-known Beatles. Their band was active from 1960 to 1970, but their music will be around for a long time.
The Coleoptera beetles are a colorful, diverse-looking, and diverse living group that have been around since the dawn of ...., well, very early, literally and figuratively. The oldest known beetle is Coleopsis, found in Germany, is from the earliest Permian (Asselian) geologic period, around 295 million years ago.
While the earliest clearly identified primate ancestors of Homo sapiens appeared a mere 22 million years ago. Our most specific species have only been around for 300,000 to 800,000 years, including the ancestors of the Beatles, as well as the specific and unscientific subspecies Homo sapiens beatlemaniacs.
So, through this series, The Beetles, under the aegis of the project Beetle Mania - India, we will share stories of some of these amazing beetles, who have predated and outlived the dinosaurs and much else, and could potentially also outlive Homo sapiens as well.
The Beetles (Episode 1) : Rosalia lateritia
Rosalia lateritia
a member of Typical Longhorn Beetles Subfamily **Cerambycinae**
Taxonomy, Description, & Behaviour,
The striking Rosalia lateritia beetle is a member the longhorn beetles family (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns (whose larvae are often referred to as roundheaded borers). The family has over 35,000 species described. While most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. some members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as the Chrysomelidae
The scientific name of this beetle family goes back to a figure from Greek mythology: after an argument with nymphs, the shepherd Cerambus was transformed into a large beetle with horns.
Other than the typical long antennal length, the most consistently distinctive feature of adults of this family is that the antennal sockets are located on low tubercles on the face; other beetles with long antennae lack these tubercles, and cerambycids with short antennae still possess them. They otherwise vary greatly in size, shape, sculpture, and coloration.
All known longhorn beetle larvae feed on plant tissue such as stems, trunks, or roots of both herbaceous and woody plants, often in injured or weak trees. A few species are serious pests. The larvae, called roundheaded borers, bore into wood, where they can cause extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber (or, occasionally, to wood in buildings; the old-house borer.
(Information collated from Wikpedia)
Animals - Arthropods
Beetles Order Coleoptera
Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, & Snout Beetles
Cucujiform Beetles
Longhorn Beetles & Allies
Longhorn Beetles
Typical Longhorn Beetles
Tribe Compsocerini
Genus Rosalia
Rosalia lateritia
Whats in a Name ?
The Genus name Rosalia is not specifically associated with an animal characteristic. It is a common female name of Italian origin, meaning "rose". The name of the genus was given in 1833 by French entomologist Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville with no further explanation or the origins.
Etymology du genre Rosalia : woman's name
The species name lateritia is easier to understand. Lateritia is derived from the Latin word lateritia, which means "brick-red". It refers to the beetle's reddish-brown color, which is similar to the color of bricks.
The specific or species name is often used to describe a characteristic of the species, such as its color, size, or habitat. In this case, the specific name lateritia refers to the beetle's reddish-brown color.
Lateritia was suggested in 1831 by Fredric William Hope in this document "Synopsis of the new species of Nepaul Insects in the collection of Major General Hardwicke. Gray’s Zoologica Miscellanea 1: 21–32."
While, we are unable to access the original document to know his reasoning, from the colour of the Beetle itself it is quite clear what it could have been
Acknowledgements
Identifications
Images in the Video :
- Observer : @triloksinghrana Trilok Singh Rana
- Location: Munsiari, Uttarakhand, India
- Date : 10th Aug. 2022
-
Inaturalist Links :
Video Sources
- Video : Rajendra Koranga
- Location: Munsiari, Uttarakhand, India
- 27th Aug. 2023
- Related Inaturalist Observation by @rajkoranga Raj Koranga
Audio
- Title "Hand Drums 65BPM"
- Author : Bert Jerred
- License 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
- Web URL https://ccmixter.org/files/bertjerred/61877
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