Black-belt-prairie
Guides
Tetraopes texanus
Texas Milkweed Beetle
Tetraopes texanus is a longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) endemic to North American grasslands, described by George Henry Horn in 1878. The species exhibits a disjunct distribution with two primary population clusters: one in Texas and Oklahoma, and another in the Black Belt Prairie of Mississippi and Alabama. Genetic studies indicate these populations diverged in the mid-Pleistocene and remain incompletely isolated. The species is a milkweed specialist, utilizing Asclepias species as host plants throughout its life cycle. Listed as Near Threatened by IUCN due to habitat loss, limited range, and increasing genetic isolation among fragmented populations.