#1370 -Â Acalolepta aestheticus
AKA Dihammus aestheticus, Haplohammus aestheticus, Monochamus aestheticus.
Photo by Kay Muddiman, who said :
It was on the outside of a flyscreen door this morning, but in such a spot that getting a clear close-up proved difficult. So I persuaded it to move onto a sheet of white paper - not that it co-operated by keeping still! It eventually got fed up with my attention and flew off! Something I noticed was that it kept 'cleaning?' its antennae with its front legs, also doing similar with the feet on its back legs (see video) - wondering if there is any significance to this. Body length was around 20 - 25mm. Location Crooked Corner on the boundary of the Southern & Central Tablelands of NSW, elevation 805m.
Native to the East Coast of Australia, but unfortunately accidentally introduced to Hawaii at some point before 2009. It’s become an increasingly alarming pest over there since then, with the large grubs boring into breadfruit trees, sago palm, Kukui, citrus, and Cacao.Â
