Mediterranean Flathead Woodborer; Gusano Cabezudo

Description:

I found three of these big black beetles in the twigs of a hawthorn shrub. It is very extended geographically and it is a pest species of stone fruit trees. In Spanish is called "gusano cabezudo" which means "big-headed worm" since the larvae have a very big prothorax. The larvae can reach 6 cm long, and live inside the roots of fruit-trees, feeding on the wood and sometimes killing the tree.

Habitat:

On a small hawthorn shrub. Evergreen oak (Quercus illex) forest. Dehesa de Valdelatas

Notes:

Camera Model: NIKON D500. Exposure Time: 1/30 sec.; f/11; ISO Speed Rating: 800. Focal Length: 90.0 mm. No flash fired. DSC_0848, 0857