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WTB Down Under?

Large Flying Bug with big Pincers
Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Hi Bugman,
We have just moved into our new house here in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It is the middle of Summer and we seem to have a rather large bug invade us! It has 6 long legs and 2 very long antennae. IT is Brown in colour and seems capable of flying but doesn’t very much. It has 2 earwig type pincers that give a nasty bite. My 3 year old was pinched by one as it was hiding in his clothing. It seems like a giant earwig, and we have had a rather bad earwig problem here, but do they grow this big? It’s about 4cm long but I’ve seen ones that are up to about 6cm. It really clings on to thing, and are hard to shake off. THey seem to like dark places like clothing on the floor and we would like to get rid of them please! I cannot send a photo yet but will if it helps. Thanks.
Kate
Barossa Valley, near Adelaide, South AUstralia

Hi Kate,
We quickly identified your Poinciana Longicorn, Agrianome spinicollis, on the Csiro Entomology web site.  We then found additional images on the Insects of Townsville Australia web site.  The Save Our Waterways Now web site states:  “A common large species in Brisbane is Agrianome Spinicollis, a large khaki species, which often breeds in rot holes of poinciana trees.”  Pages 3 through 5 of a PDF ( hawskeswood160-1 ) we found has some technical information on this Prionid that is wide spread but uncommon in Australia.

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