Simone Runyan's son found this longhorned beetle near Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, Aug. 18, 2022.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Simone Runyan
August 21, 2022 - 6:33 PM
A Coldstream resident was happy to showcase her discovery of a longhorn beetle, having not previously found one alive.
“My son found this beetle on our deck near Kalamalka Lake Park,” Aug. 18, said Simone Runyan, via instant message.
“I have found a few of them over the years, usually dead under lights or around houses. I actually have a dead male and female that I found about six years ago,” she said.
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Rob Higgins, TRU ecologist, confirmed the bug is a male Prionus californicus, the California root borer.
“The adults only live for about two to three weeks so they don’t hang around for very long. About 20% of my entomology students have one of these in their insect collections each year. Thus, they are not rare but uncommon to encounter randomly. You would find them more commonly near orchards where the larvae feed on roots,” he said via email.
The beetles are typically 24 to 57 mm in size and are range from reddish brown to black in colour, according to beetleidentification.org.
Adults may be active this month due to their mating cycle.
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