Talk:Moneilema

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December 2007[edit]

I edited this page to indicate that the vernacular term "Longhorn Cactus Beetles" (or, Cactus Longhorn Beetles") refers to a genus containing many species, not just M. gigas. Also added some additional biological information and links to new articles.

I also added a comment indicating that the purported mimicry of Eleodes (stink beetles) by Moneilema is as yet unproven. To my knowledge, this claim, although widely repeated in the literature, is based on a single observation by A. G. Raske, reported in his 1966 (UC Berkeley) doctoral dissertation, that one ringtail cat was observed to reject cactus longhorn beetles after experiencing unpalatable Eleodes species. Although these data are consistent with the mimicry, a single observation does not qualify as scientific evidence.

Moneilema (talk) 05:45, 6 December 2007 (UTC)Moneilema[reply]