''Moneilema'', or cactus longhorn beetles are a genus of large, flightless, black beetles found in North American deserts of the western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. '' M. gigas'' is native to the Sonoran Desert at elevations below 4900 feet (1500m). The front wings of these beetles are fused forming a single, hardened shell, from which the genus derives its Latin name. The genus includes twenty species.''Moneilema''
/ref> Longhorn cactus beetles feed on chollas and prickly pear cacti and are known to feed on saguaro seedlings. Larvae bore into cactus roots and stems, sometimes killing more susceptible individuals. Adults also feed on the surface of cacti. Most ''Moneilema'' species are active during mid or late summer - the adults typically emerging during the summer monsoon season. Some ''Moneilema'' species in central and southern Mexico are reported to be active all year. Like many flightless beetles, these beetles have limited wing musculature with a rounded abdomen and thorax, similar in appearance to a number of other flightless desert beetles. Cactus longhorn beetles resemble and mimic the behavior of noxious stink beetles in the genus ''

Eleodes ''Eleodes'' (commonly known as pinacate beetles or desert stink beetles) is a genus of darkling beetles, in the family Tenebrionidae. They are endemic to western North America ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico with many species fou ...

''.

Species

*'' Moneilema albopictum'' White, 1856 *'' Moneilema annulatum'' Say, 1824 *'' Moneilema appressum'' LeConte, 1852 *'' Moneilema armatum'' LeConte, 1853 *'' Moneilema aterrimum'' Fisher, 1931 *'' Moneilema blapsides'' Newman, 1838 *'' Moneilema crassipes'' Fisher, 1931 *'' Moneilema ebeninum'' Bates, 1885 *''

Moneilema gigas file:Moneilema gigas P1090035b.jpg, ''Moneilema gigas'', Pima County, Arizona file:Moneilema gigas P1090046a.jpg, ''Moneilema gigas'', Pima County, Arizona ''Moneilema gigas'' is a large, flightless, black beetle native to the Sonoran Desert, S ...

'' LeConte, 1873 *'' Moneilema longipes'' White, 1856 *'' Moneilema manni'' Psota, 1930 *'' Moneilema mexicanum'' Fisher, 1926 *'' Moneilema michelbacheri'' Linsley, 1942 *'' Moneilema opuntiae'' Fisher, 1928 *'' Moneilema punctipenne'' Fisher, 1926 *'' Moneilema rugosissimum'' Casey, 1924 *'' Moneilema semipunctatum'' LeConte, 1852 *'' Moneilema subrugosum'' Bland, 1862 *'' Moneilema variolare'' Thomson, 1867 *'' Moneilema wickhami'' Psota, 1930

References

External links

Range expansions in the flightless longhorn cactus beetlesEvolutionary Consequences of Dispersal Ability in Cactus-feeding Insects
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1615850 Beetles of North America Cerambycidae genera