Known from Madagascar; available records indicate a Malagasy distribution.
Fine-art photographic collection
Atybe plantii
An eleven-millimetre Madagascan longhorn carrying an intricate pale lattice across a black body.
About this species
Atybe plantiiPascoe, 1864
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Atybe plantii is a small Madagascan longhorn beetle whose pale scales form a complex broken lattice over the dark wing cases. Documented males are only about 11 mm long, so the pattern is assembled from structures that become fully visible only at close range.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Cerambycidae · Atybe
Accepted species or infraspecific taxon in the current GBIF/Catalogue of Life treatment; unsupported details have been omitted rather than inferred. · checked 2026-07-15
MadagascarBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Woodland or woody vegetation within the documented range; larval habitat depends on the host plant.
Adults are seasonal; timing varies with climate and locality.
Longhorn beetle larvae develop in woody plant tissue; the exact host range for this species should be taken from specialist literature.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Its pale markings form a broken lattice of lines and compartments rather than ordinary spots, turning the wing cases into a miniature mosaic.
Much of that pattern is produced by dense microscopic scales laid over the hard cuticle, so the apparent paintwork is actually a surface made from tiny hairs.
A documented male from Moramanga measured only about 11 millimetres, compressing the elaborate pattern into a body scarcely wider than a grain of rice.