Subject: beetle of some sort?
Location: Wrightsville Beach, NC
June 20, 2012 12:59 pm
I live on the coast in North Carolina and found this bug crawling on our deck. I haven’t been able to ID it. Can you help? Thanks!
Signature: joneswb
Dear joneswb,
After a bit of searching, we identified your beetle as a Cabbage Palm Longhorn or Palmetto Longhorn, Osmopleura chamaeropis.  According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on Cabbage Palmettos (Sabal palmetto) in Florida” and its range is “Florida and Georgia and recently, one specimen from Texas.” Perhaps your North Carolina sighting is a range expansion due to global warming or the cultivation of palmettos in North Carolina, or perhaps a specimen was accidentally transported in baggage or with goods.