Life history and population dynamics of Cerambycidae

Abstract

The Cerambycidae comprise a large and diverse family of beetles with more than 36,000 species recognized worldwide (see Chapter 1). Cerambycids vary greatly in adult body length, from as short as 1.5 mm long in the Caribbean twig-boring lamiine Decarthria stephensi Hope (Villiers 1980; Peck 2011) to as long as 167 mm in the prionine Titanus giganteus (L.) (Bleuzen 1994), the larvae of which likely develop in decaying wood in South American rain forests. Cerambycids are native to all continents with the exception of Antarctica and can be found from sea level [e.g., the cerambycine Ceresium olidum (Fairmaire) in the Society Islands and Fiji; Blair 1934] to alpine sites as high as 4200 m (e.g., the cerambycine Molorchus relictus Niisato in China [Niisato 1996; Pesarini and Sabbadini 1997] and the lamiine Lophopoeum forsteri Tippmann in Bolivia [Tippmann 1960]). In this chapter, we will discuss the types of habitats commonly occupied by cerambycids, the development of the immature stages, diapause, adult dispersal and longevity, and population dynamics.