Tian-niu or Sky Bull: Asian Longhorned Beetle

On the way out of the Yuanshen Swimming Hall, Yang Zhisheng and I found this bug while looking for a place to rest while waiting for Sunny to return to the changing room to collect his forgotten swimming trunk. According to Sunny, the bug is called Tian-niu or Sky Bull for its head appears like a bull.

Searching at Wikipedia and found the following:

The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) (ALB), sometimes called Starry Sky (Sky Oxen in China) beetle, is native to China and other areas of eastern Asia, where it causes widespread mortality of poplar, willow, elm, and maple trees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_long-horned_beetle

See the Sky Bull arching its tentacles displaying defence when agitated .

Jeremy
Shanghai upon the Sea
August 23rd 2008