Classification: | Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Coleoptera | Family: Cerambycidae | Genus: Xystrocera |

I had mistaken the identity of this beetle with a very similar species, Albizia Borer Xystrocera festiva [1], when I first encountered this beetle on a climber grown along the corridor of my home on 30 August 2014.

Xystrocera globosa goes by at least 3 common names, Monkeypod Round-Headed Longhorn Beetle, Monkeypod Roundheaded Borer, Two-lined Albizia Longhorn and Japanese Green-lined Albizzia Longicorn [2, 3]. Two things can be concluded from these names; the beetle's host plant is likely to be the Monkeypod Tree (also known as Rain Tree) and it is found in Japan. Besides Japan, it has gone as far as Israel [4].

A year later on 18 August 2015, another of this beetle (below picture) returned to the same Air Potato Vine (Dioscorea bulbifera), except that this vine was a new plant. The old plant had died in November 2014. The new climber emerged in May 2015 from the same pot.

References:

[1] Endang AH, Farikhah HN. Infestation of Xystrocera festiva in Paraserianthes falcataria plantation in East Java, Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 2010;22(4):397-402. | Read article |

[2] Matsumoto K, Samosat S, Irianto-Ragil SB. Biology of the Green Lined Albizzla Longicorn, Xystrocera globosa Oliver (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae), from Sumatra, Based on Laboratory Breedlng. Tropics 1996;6(1-2):79-89. | Read article |

[3] Matsumoto K, Irianto-Ragil SB, Kitajima H. Biology of the Japanese green-lined albizzia longicorn, Xystrocera globosa (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Entomological Science 2000;3(1):33-42. | Read article |

[4] Friedman ALL, Rittner O, Chikatunov VI. Note: five new invasive species of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Israel. Phytoparasitica 2008;36(3):242-246. | Read article |