Tragocephala variegata

Tragocephala variegata, the longhorn shoot borer, is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetles belonging to the family Cerambycidae.

Tragocephala variegata
Museum specimen of Tragocephala variegata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Cerambycidae
Genus:	Tragocephala
Species:	T. variegata
Binomial name
Tragocephala variegata Bertoloni, 1849
Synonyms
Tragocephala variegata m. bellamyi Téocchi, 1991 Tragocephala variegata m. pallida Breuning, 1970 Tragocephala venusta Thomson, 1857

Varietas

• Tragocephala variegata var. albida Aurivillius, 1923
• Tragocephala variegata var. chevrolatii White, 1856
• Tragocephala variegata var. kaslica Thomson, 1878
• Tragocephala variegata var. nigropunctata Harold, 1878
• Tragocephala variegata var. sulphurea Breuning, 1934
• Tragocephala variegata var. vittata (Fåhraeus, 1872)

Description

Tragocephala variegata can reach a body length of about 17–26 millimetres (0.67–1.02 in). These longhorn beetles have yellow elytra with irregular black markings. Pronotum is divided by a central longitudinal yellow stripe.

These beetles feed on Baobab (Adansonia digitata), Spanish Cedar (Cedrela odorata), Mango (Mangifera indica), Blackeyed Pea (Vigna unguiculata), Senegal Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis).

Distribution

This species can be found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but there have been minor sightings in other Central African countries.

References

• Biolib
• Worldwide Cerambycoidea Photo Gallery
• Lamiaires du Monde
• Hans G. Schabel Forest Entomology in East Africa: Forest Insects of Tanzania