Frog-legged beetle

Meet the frog-legged beetle
in the Insectarium’s Tête-à-tête room.

This beetle from Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Laos) has large hind legs. It can display a range of bright, metallic colours.

Male beetles use their oversized legs as weapons when competing with other males. They use them both to guard females during mating and to defend their feeding territory.

Stems as a nursery for larvae

Frog-legged beetle larvae form large galls on the stems of a wide variety of host plants. Inside these galls, they develop into pupae.

Once they reach adulthood, the beetles chew their way out of the stem to emerge from their shelter.