[Source: UA News] – Bumbling through the air like misguided toy airplanes, Palo Verde Root Borer beetles are a familiar – and often intimidating – sight to Southern Arizona residents. After spending several years as larvae gnawing through the roots of Mexican Palo Verde trees, the adult beetles emerge when the first monsoon rains drench the desert soil.
“Measuring up to five inches, the Palo Verde Root Borer is the longest beetle found in the Sonoran Desert,” said Wendy Moore, who recently joined the UA’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as an assistant professor of Insect Systematics.
For more information: Meet the Beetles