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Eyed Longhorn Beetle

Fast Facts

Latin name: Obera oculata

Notable feature: Easily recognizable species with an orange pronotum that has two black spots.

Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Where in the UK: Associated with Fenland and known from one site in Cambridgeshire.

Eyed Longhorn Beetle (Oberea oculata) © Siga, Wiki Commons

The Eyed Longhorn Beetle (Obera oculata) is a distinctive beetle, with black head and antennae, an orange pronotum with two black spots and grey elytra (wing casing). Additionally, the beetle’s legs and underside are also orange.

Native to the UK, it is recorded on the IUCN’s red list as critically endangered and is a UK Section 41 Species under the NERC Act.

Longhorn beetles are important members of woodlands ecosystems as eat decaying wood and returning nutrients to the living ecosystem.  The Eyed Longhorn Beetle is closely associated with willow carr (wet woodland).

  • Size: 15-20mm (1.5-2cm) in length.
  • Life span: Larval stage up to 2 years.
  • Diet: Tender bark and foliage of various willows (Salix sp).
  • Reproduction: Mating takes place on twigs and foliage. The female then selects suitable sites for oviposition, usually on branches ranging from 2cm to 5cm. The female uses her mandibles to cut a hole into the branches where she lays a single egg in each cut. Larvae take up to two years to pupate, and once formed, adults will wait until the temperature increases in May – June, before leaving the oviposition site.
  • When to see: Adults are active June to September; however, emergence can be influenced by the weather.
  •  Population Trend: Declining.
  • Threats: Change to fenland management, drying out of ground and removal of willow carr
  • Fun Fact: The beetle does not visit flowers at all during any of its life cycle.

How you can help:

Buglife is working to increase awareness and understanding of invertebrates and the Eyed Longhorn Beetle through species recovery projects. Find out more on the Eyed Longhorn Beetle Species Recovery Project page.

Join a recording scheme and log your finds – submit any records/sightings on the iRecord app. Records of this beetle will help us to better understand this species distribution.

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