Macleay's Spectre Stick Insect Longhorn vs Ponderous Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Macleay's Spectre Stick Insect Longhorn Ponderous Borer
Scientific Name Penthea vermicularis Trichocnemis spiculatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Cerambycidae Cerambycidae
Size 20-30 mm body length 40-60 mm
Habitat Woodlands Ponds & Lakes
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Australia Western United States, British Columbia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Macleay's Spectre Stick Insect Longhorn

A slender longhorn beetle with mottled grey-brown bark-like camouflage patterning. It is found on dead wood in eucalypt forests of eastern Australia.

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Did You Know?

Its bark-like coloring makes it virtually invisible when resting on dead tree trunks.

Ponderous Borer

One of the largest cerambycids in North America, this prionine breeds in the roots and lower trunks of dead ponderosa pines. Adults are dark brown with a somewhat rough body surface. They are nocturnal and attracted to lights.

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Did You Know?

Larval development can take up to six years in dry dead wood, one of the longest development times for any beetle.