Stats

Lifespan: Up to 1 yr
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Warning Colors
Status: Common

About

A boldly red-and-black longhorn beetle found exclusively on common milkweed across eastern North America. It sequesters cardenolide toxins from its milkweed host, advertising its unpalatability to predators through vivid aposematic coloration.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae
Genus: Tetraopes
Species: Tetraopes tetrophthalmus