Acanthinodera cumingii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the diet of carnivores of the Nahuelbuta Mountain Area, south-central Chile

Abstract

Acanthinodera cumingii, is the largest long horned beetle of Chile that shows morphological and behavioural differences between sexes. In this species female are diurnal, flightless and larger than males. These features make the females to be consumed by four carnivores in south central Chile. The results show a low frequency of consumption and only appear in 15% of feaces analyzed, and no structure of the head and the prothorax were found, suggesting that predators have difficulty to consume this species and before eating these structures need to be removed by the predators