Musk beetle
The musk beetle is a shiny green longhorn beetle that shimmers like metal. Its feelers are super long, in the males even longer than the whole body. When something bothers it, it gives off a sweet smell, a bit like roses.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Its shell changes colour, from green to coppery, depending on how you look at it.
Its sweet smell is made in tiny glands near its back legs.
One of the scents in its smell is also used to make perfume.
In southern Europe, Africa and Asia, some musk beetles have a red middle part instead of a green one.
Its back has sharp little spines to keep it safe.
Most asked questions about Musk beetle
?Why is it called the musk beetle?
Because it gives off a sweet, musky smell when it feels in danger.
?Is the musk beetle dangerous?
No, it is harmless. It cannot sting, it only makes a nice smell.
?Where does the musk beetle live?
On and around willow trees, because its larva grows inside willow wood.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Aromia moschata
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Cerambycidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Cerambycidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Musk beetle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Udo Schmidt from Deutschland. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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