The Arrowhead Borer

Meet Xylotrechus sagittatus, the Arrowhead Borer, that I photographed last week in an Atlantic White Cedar bog deep within the penetralia of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. It was found, as it should be, in a habitat dominated by conifers. It presented in the midst of a rapid bioassessment research project we were conducting that use moths, sub-order Heterocera, as proxies of a sites ecologic health. The arrow head borers came to the light party attracted to a 1,000 watt metal halide lamp. The cool thing, if you hadn't noticed already, was the hitchhiking pseudoscorpions that clasp to the legs' of the beetle as a means to travel around the forest, riding the beetle-Uber free of charge. Entomologist have a term for this type of freeloading behavior - Phoresis (Greek for "to carry"). I know, creepy, right!