Great capricorn beetle
Cerambyx cerdoThe great capricorn beetle is Sweden’s largest longhorn beetle and can grow up to 5 cm long, not including the antennae. It is a large beetle with a thin body and very long antennae which are longer than the body.
Length: 5 cm
The species is not for display in the park. Nordens Ark work is exclusively with breeding and repopulation of this species.
This beetle lives on old oaks with rough bark that are exposed to the sun.
It completes its life cycle in 4-5 years. Females usually lay around 100 eggs. The eggs are laid in deadwood part of living, very old and unshaded trees between May and September and larvae appear around 10 days later. During the first year, the larvae stay under the bark and in the second year they go deeper into the wood, on which they feed. At the end of the last stage, the nymph makes a gallery that opens to the outside but the adults remain sheltered in the chamber during the winter. The adults emerge between June or July depending on how the weather in June. After emerging the adult beetles start to mate, lay eggs and often live for 3-5 weeks.
Adults are generally active at twilight to minimize predation risk.
