10 November 2015

Last night's visitor: Coptomma variegatum

Last night as I was about to head to bed, I noticed something on the ceiling. A closer look confirmed it was this cerambycid (longhorn) beetle, which must have flown in while I'd had the house opened up in the evening to cool.

I transferred it to a container and in the morning released it outside on the verandah railing, where I photographed it.



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6 comments:

  1. Lisa11 November 2015 at 06:50

    I think it's nice for both of you that you caught it, released it, and photographed it, rather than have it drop on your head in the middle of the night! A gorgeous thing - from a distance through a micro lens!

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  2. Zhoen12 November 2015 at 05:43

    What a sleek and stylish creature. I expect it didn't mind a night in a nice hotel.

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  3. pohanginapete12 November 2015 at 11:58

    Lisa, the older I get, the more inclined I am to take these kinds of visitors outside and let them go. My bug-squashing and insect-collecting days are now in the past.

    Zhoen, I'd like to think it at least didn't mind a night indoors. Insects have weird tastes, though, so who knows what it was thinking.

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  4. AJB13 November 2015 at 10:59

    Very cool and not one I've seen before.

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  5. pohanginapete14 November 2015 at 06:20

    Andrew, I've seen this a couple of times, and I've also seen the very beautiful Coptomma lineatum on the No. 1 Line track and at Ngamoko hut: see my NatureWatchNZ observations of these two species.

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  6. AJB19 November 2015 at 15:06

    I've seen C. lineatum up at the top of Scotts Road when looking at the orchids there.

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