Huhu beetle
The huhu beetle is a big, fuzzy, dark brown beetle that lives only in New Zealand. It has very long feelers and pale yellow lines on its back that make a net pattern. It flies at night and loves bright lights.
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Fun facts
The grown-up beetle lives for only about two weeks.
Its larva can grow 5 to 7 centimetres long, as long as your finger.
MΔori people have eaten huhu grubs for a long time, raw or cooked, and people say they taste like peanut butter.
Because the larvae live inside logs, New Zealand heats or gasses logs before sending them to other countries.
In the MΔori language there are different names for the grub, the pupa and the flying beetle.
Most asked questions about Huhu beetle
?Is the huhu beetle dangerous?
No, but it has big sharp jaws, so it is best not to pick it up.
?Can you eat huhu grubs?
Yes. MΔori people have eaten them for a long time, and they are said to taste like peanut butter.
?How big is a huhu beetle?
The grown-up beetle is up to about 5 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Prionoplus reticularis
- Named by
- White, 1843
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Cerambycidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Cerambycidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Huhu beetle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by (c) Saryu Mae ε ζη, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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