First description of sound emission of Rhaphiptera affinis Thomson, 1868 (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Pteropliini).

ABSTRACT

Cerambycidae is one of the largest families of beetles, containing about 38,000 described species (Tavakilian Chevillotte 2018). In most species of this family, adults possess a stridulatory device that allows them to produce squeaking sounds (Wang 2017). In the subfamilies Prioninae and Parandrinae, individuals stridulate by rubbing their ridged hind femora against elytral margins (Svácha Lawrence 2014). In the other subfamilies, including Lamiinae, the stridulation is produced by friction between the ventral face of the posterior pronotal margin (plectrum) and a striated plate on the mesoscutum (pars stridens) (Svácha Lawrence 2014). Although some adults produce sounds during courtship and copulation, this sound production occurs mainly when individuals are disturbed, being considered a defensive mechanism that might act as a startle response against predators (Dumortier 1963; Svácha Lawrence 2014; Wang 2017).