A new species of Longhorn Beetle from Southeast Asia.

Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) are a widespread and diverse group, noted for their elongated antennae, which are often longer than their bodies (though some species lack these). Their larvae are wood-boring grubs, which can be destructive to timber, and many species are considered pests, both in the forestry industry and in human dwellings as woodworm. Some of the largest species of Beetle are Longhorns, including the 16 cm Titan Beetle (Titanus giganteus) of South America.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 16 April 2013, Mei-Ying Lin of the Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Carolus Holzschuh of Villach in Austria describe a new species of Longhorn Beetle from China, Vietnam and Laos.

The new species is named Blamada rubripronota, where 'Blamada' is 'an arbitrary combination of letters' and 'rubripronota' refers to to the orangey-red pronotum (top of the thorax) of the Beetles. Blamada rubripronota is a 9.7-13.1 mm elongate black Beetle with an orangey-red head and protonum. The females are slightly larger than the males. The species was found living in Hua Phan in Laos, Vinh phu Province in Vietnam and Guangxi Province in China.

Blamada rubripronota. (1) Male from Laos, (2) male from Laos, (3) female from Laos, (4) male from Vietnam, (5) female from Vietnam and (6) male from China. Lin & Holzschuh (2013).

See also A new species of Marsh Rove Beetle from Japan, A new species of Chrysomeline Leaf Beetle from Ireland, England and Tasmania, A new species of Diving Beetle from New Guinea, A new species of Skin Beetle from Yunnan Province, China and A blind, cave dwelling, Ground Beetle from Anatolian Turkey.

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