........Megasoma cedros Hardy, 1972
........syn. Megasoma lenczyi Carwright, 1976

Megasoma cedros Hardy, 1972 male, dorsal view	Megasoma cedros Hardy, 1972 female, dorsal view

male, lateral view

female, lateral view Photos by Matthew R. Moore

Distribution: Mexico (central Baja California: Cedros Island).

 

Diagnosis: Males with elytra and pronotum pilose; females with elytra pilose. Males with anterior tibiae straight. Anterior margin of clypeus with acute, spiniform teeth separated by three tooth widths or more. Pronotum without median, anteriorly directed horn. Females with pronotum punctate. Anterior margin of clypeus with acute, spiniform teeth. Frontoclypeal suture with blunt tubercle. Tubercle not impressed on top.

Biological Data: Adults are found at elevations of 100-600 m (Hardy 1972; Cartwright 1976) on the braches of Acacia sp. (Mimosaceae). Males are active in the morning, but by noon they burrow into the soil at the base of their host plant to escape the extreme heat. When temperatures are less extreme, males strip the bark of their host plant to feed on the cambium (Ratcliffe 2005).

Temporal Distribution: August-October (Ratcliffe 2005).

Larvae: Ratcliffe and Morón (2005) described the first, second, and third instar larvae.

References:
Cartwright, O.L. 1976. A new Megasoma from Baja California, México (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Coleopterists Bulletin 30: 85-89.

Hardy, A.R. 1972. A brief revision of the North and Central American species of Megasoma (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Canadian Entomologist 104: 765-777.

Ratcliffe, B.C. and M.A. Morón. 2005. Larval descriptions of eight species of Megasoma Kirby (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) with a key for identification and notes on biology. Coleopterists Bulletin 59: 91-126.