Milkweed-beetle
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Tetraopes
Milkweed Longhorn Beetles
Tetraopes is a genus of specialized longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) distributed from Guatemala to Canada. The genus is defined by extreme host specificity to milkweeds (Asclepias and related genera in Apocynaceae), with larvae feeding on roots and adults feeding on leaves and flowers. All species exhibit aposematic red-and-black coloration advertising their sequestration of cardiac glycosides from host plants. The eyes are completely divided by antennal insertions, giving rise to both the scientific name ("four eyes") and common name "four-eyed milkweed beetle" for some species. The genus represents a classic example of coevolutionary radiation with its host plants.
Tetraopes annulatus
Ringed Long-horned Beetle
Tetraopes annulatus is a species of longhorn beetle in the subfamily Lamiinae, described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1847. It is distributed across the northern United States and southern Canada, with records from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Like other members of the genus Tetraopes, this species is a milkweed specialist, with larvae feeding on roots and adults feeding on foliage.
Tetraopes discoideus
Tetraopes discoideus is a small milkweed longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae, described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1847. Adults measure 7–9 mm in length, making this species notably smaller than congeners. The species is associated with milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.) throughout its range in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Adults have been observed resting, feeding, and mating on milkweed stems and flowers. Larvae develop by feeding on milkweed roots, either tunneling directly into large taproots or living in surrounding soil when roots are small.
Tetraopes linsleyi
A milkweed longhorn beetle described by Chemsak in 1963. Like other members of the genus Tetraopes, it is a specialist herbivore associated with milkweeds (Asclepias), possessing bright aposematic coloration and the characteristic divided eyes that give the genus its name. The species is known from the United States, though specific details about its range and biology remain limited.
Tetraopes mandibularis
Tetraopes mandibularis is a species of longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae, described by Chemsak in 1963. The species belongs to the genus Tetraopes, a group of milkweed-associated beetles. It is known from the United States, though specific details about its biology and ecology remain poorly documented in available literature.
Tetraopes pilosus
Pilose Milkweed Beetle
Tetraopes pilosus is a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae, described by Chemsak in 1963. It is a milkweed specialist restricted to Quaternary sandhills of the central and southern Great Plains. Adults are characterized by dense white pubescence and bright red-and-black aposematic coloration. The species is closely associated with sand milkweed (Asclepias arenaria), feeding on both foliage as adults and roots as larvae.
Tetraopes quinquemaculatus
five-spotted milkweed beetle
Tetraopes quinquemaculatus is a milkweed-associated longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) described by Haldeman in 1847. It is native to North America and is one of several species in the genus Tetraopes that specialize on milkweeds (Asclepias). The species is considerably less common than the widespread T. tetrophthalmus and has been documented from sand prairie and dry sandy habitats in the Mississippi River Alluvial Basin. Adults are visually distinctive and larvae develop as root borers in living milkweed plants.
Tetraopes skillmani
Skillman's Milkweed Longhorn
Tetraopes skillmani is a longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) described in 2004 from Arizona. It belongs to the milkweed beetle genus Tetraopes, whose members are obligate specialists on Asclepiadaceae host plants. The type locality is near Duquesne in southeastern Arizona, where collectors found its host plant Sarcostemma sp. but did not encounter the beetles during the initial survey.
Tetraopes sublaevis
Tetraopes sublaevis is a species of longhorn beetle in the subfamily Lamiinae, described by Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr. in 1913. Like other members of the genus Tetraopes, it is a milkweed specialist. The species is known from the United States, though specific details about its biology and distribution within North America remain poorly documented compared to better-known congeners such as T. tetraophthalmus and T. texanus.
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.