Subject: found this guy on my veranda on his back so i flipped him over, what is it?
Location: my backyard, australia, queensland
November 18, 2016 4:52 am
i just wanna know if its poisonous or some kind of cockroach? not going to kill it but i did want to pick it up, but i’m scared lol! biggest beetle looking bug i’be ever seen!
Signature: Kyla Marshall
Dear Kyla,
This Prionid Beetle or Longicorn, is neither poisonous, nor is it a Cockroach. At first we thought it was a Banksia Longicorn, but we realized that we have a misidentification in our archives. We now believe both your beetle and the one in our archives is Agrianome spinicollis based on this image from BioLib, this image from Prioninae of the World and this image from the Worldwide Cerambycidae Photo Gallery. Though it is not poisonous, it does have very powerful mandibles and it might deliver a painful bite if carelessly handled.
