Categories

bug identification
Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 1:01 AM
Beetle is about two or three inches long, yellow underneath, four red marks. Found on fig tree, probably was summer.
Judith
Israel

Mango Stem Borer

Hi Judith,
We remember identifying this beetle previously, but we needed to search our archives to locate the Mango Stem Borer we received from India. The scientific name is Batocera rufomaculata and a website we located indicates its preferred host trees are mango and fig. Catherine Githure who contributed to the site indicates: “In Israel, where B. rufomaculata was introduced in the late 1940s (Avidov and Harpaz, 1969), figs are most heavily attacked as are mango and avocado.” This beetle is also called the Mango Tree Borer or the Tropical Fig Borer.

Hi Daniel
Thank you very much for the information.  I am entering a drawing I did from the photo to the BBC Wildlife Artist competition, so I wanted to be able to write its name!
It does not sound like a beetle one would like to see in the garden, so it is a good thing that I have only seen one of them!
Best wishes
Judith

Related Posts

1. Mango Stem Borer from India (June 22, 2008)
2. Unknown Borer Beetle from India is Mango Tree Borer (May 2, 2008)
3. Longhorn Borer Beetle from India (November 14, 2008)
4. Grasshopper from Israel (December 24, 2008)
5. Longhorn Beetle from China: Batocera rubus (November 11, 2009)