Moneilema gigas

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Cucujiformia
Cladus: Phytophaga
Superfamilia: Chrysomeloidea

Familia: Cerambycidae
Subfamilia: Lamiinae
Tribus: Moneilemini
Genus: Moneilema
Species: Moneilema gigas
Name

Moneilema gigas LeConte, 1873
Vernacular names
English: Longhorn cactus beetle
References

Illustrated index of the tribe to the atlas of long-horned beetles (Cerambycidae) of Russia

Cactus Longhorn Beetle Page at Friends of Saguaro National Park

Moneilema gigas is a large, flightless, black beetle native to the Sonoran desert at elevations below 1500 metres.[1] The front wings are fused forming a single, hardened shell. Collectively - with 19 other Moneilema species - M. gigas is also known as the cactus longhorn beetle.

Moneilema gigas normally feeds on chollas and prickly pear cacti, and is known to feed on saguaro seedlings. Larvae bore into cactus roots and stems, sometimes killing more susceptible individuals. Adults also feed on the surface of cacti.[2] M. gigas are most active during mid or late summer - the adults typically emerging during the summer monsoon season.

Like many flightless beetles, these beetles have limited wing musculature with a rounded abdomen and thorax, similar in appearance to a number of other flightless desert beetles. Cactus longhorn beetles resemble and mimic the behavior of noxious stink beetles in the genus Eleodes.[3]
References

"Historical Biogeography of Longhorn Cactus Beetles" (PDF). Forest Service Proceedings. USDA. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
"Cactus Longhorn Beetle". Museum of Learning. Discovery Media. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
"Beetles". Invertebrates. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Retrieved 2010-11-24.