Adults about 28–42.5 mm long, excluding the antennae.
Fine-art photographic collection
Nemophas rosenbergii
A Sulawesi longhorn whose white-banded body and extravagant antennae were once confused with a Philippine animal now recognised as a different species.
About this species
Nemophas rosenbergiiRitsema, 1881
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Nemophas rosenbergii is a large, striking longhorn beetle endemic to Sulawesi. Adults combine a black body, contrasting pale bands and antennae that greatly extend the animal’s sensory reach.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Cerambycidae · Nemophas
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Sulawesi, IndonesiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Sulawesi, Indonesia
Tropical forest and forest edge.
Adults have been recorded in several separate months across the year.
Adults probably take sap or plant fluids; larvae develop in wood.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
The beetle’s antennae can visually exceed the body itself, turning eleven articulated segments into a mobile chemical and tactile array that samples the air and vegetation ahead of the animal.
Its entire accepted natural range is Sulawesi, so one island contains the complete wild history of a species that can exceed four centimetres before the antennae are even counted.
A Philippine form long called Nemophas rosenbergii ramosi was removed from synonymy and restored as the separate species Nemophas ramosi, showing that similar white-banded giants on neighbouring islands evolved independently.
Sources and scientific references
- GBIF — taxon record/search for Nemophas rosenbergii
- Catalogue of Life — taxon search for Nemophas rosenbergii
- Vitali & Nagirnyi — Nemophas ramosi restored from the former rosenbergii subspecies
- Nemophas rosenbergii — Sulawesi distribution and authority
- Species measurements and recorded adult flight months
More photographs
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