cerambycidae

Megacyllene robiniae - Locust Borer Champaign, Illinois Goldenrod flowers are a magnet for late summer insects, and among the most spectacular attractions is the locust borer, a wasp-striped longhorn beetle.  They gather on the flowers to mate and to feed on pollen. Megacyllene larvae are pests of black locust trees.  Their burrows in the wood damage trees directly, but more seriously, the wounds expose the tree to an even more damaging fungus. Pesty or no, they are charismatic insects and much more cooperative photographic subjects than the ants I usually shoot. photo details (top 3…