Prosopocera lactator, the Turquoise Longhorn, is a species of flat-faced longhorn beetles in the subfamily Lamiinae.
Subspecies Prosopocera lactator lactator (Fabricius, 1801) Prosopocera lactator meridionalis Jordan, 1903 Prosopocera lactator poggei Harold, 1878
Description Prosopocera lactator can reach a length of about . The colors and markings of these longhorn beetles are quite variable. Usually they are brown-colored, with large light greenish or whitish patches on the elytra and pronotum and turquoise leg markings. The coloration of said greenish-white patches derives from the orientation of three-dimensional photonic-crystal grains present in the scales. These beetles feed exclusively on Cashew (Anacardium occidentale). Females lay their eggs in the stems and branches of the Buffalo Thorn (Ziziphus mucronata).
Distribution This species can be found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
References Biolib Worldwide Cerambycoidea Photo Gallery Photographs from South Africa Jean-François Colomer, Priscilla Simonis, Annick Bay, Peter Cloetens, Heikki Suhonen, Marie Rassart, Cedric Vandenbem and Jean Pol Vigneron Photonic polycrystal in the greenish-white scales of the African longhorn beetle Prosopocera lactator Living Space