A beetle like insect with really long antennae.
Sat, Jul 4, 2009 at 7:20 PM
I have no idea what this bug is. It was so intriguing, however, I took about 40 pictures of it! I think it’s a beetle, since it can fly and its wings are hidden under a hard shell. It had black and white stripes.
Please identify this bug!
Grants Pass, Oregon
Your insect is a Banded Alder Borer, Rosalia funebris, which is sometimes called a California Laurel Borer, but according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin “it does not use California laurel (Umbellaria species) as a primary host.” According to BugGuide, the “Larvae feed in dead hardwood trees: maple, alder, oak, willow, etc.” Some borer beetles attack living trees, but this is not the case with the Banded Alder Borer.
Is it poisonous???
no
is this bug a pest? Do i need to be worried about my trees and plants?
Do they bite? Poisonous?
They have powerful mandibles, and they might bite if carelessly handled, but they are not poisonous nor are they venomous.
Do they hurt garden plants? Will they hurt animals
They will not hurt plants other than those identified as host plants, and they are not aggressive.
I have such a beetle living in my firewood! Can’t wait to see him again. This time I will be ready with my camera
I caught this bugger on camer in Walla Walla WA on July 18th 2017. I was so creeped out by this bug. Eeewww
Wow, I just found one on the windshield of my car, late afternoon in St Helens OR today. I had never seen anything like it. Quite striking and beautiful.
I just saw one on my windshield too!
Today, I found one in my backyard in Portland, Oregon.
Just found one on my deck on Vancouver Island in Comox BC
Found one in Victoria BC Canada..Do they normally show up this far north?
Yes. British Columbia is part of their range.
British Columbia is part of the range of the Banded Alder Borer.
Found one in Brownsville, Oregon at Country music festival. He seemed to like Keith Urban!
Great to know what it is! I just found one in Campbell River, B.C.
on Vancouver Island. I was surprised to hear British Columbia is part of their territory. I have lived here all my life and have never
seen one before.
first hint its a borer was the large amounts of sap dripping from a 10 in dia alder.
Another alder same age next to it was also infested with them. Cut both trees
down and just today discover another alder infested. This one very large,
perhaps 40-60 years old. Again the sap drippings on the ground under the alder
was first evidence of this critter being what its named after. However these
are living alder, not dead. So must be different than what was described in
above article. We’ve found a dead beetle (as described in article) near both
trees. This location is North Kitsap County, west of Seattle, Washington.
The adult beetle specimens are quite valuable to collectors. If I were you, I would rear as many as possible out of the wood and try marketing them on ebay. My bet is they will bring over $100 each.
I found a bug black and white legs, black antennas, and more white but has thin black stripes. What is it?
If this beetle bites what will happen?
A slight nip will most likely not even break the skin.
I am in Tulsa, OK and I have one of these roaming outside my house. Smaller than that one put probably the size of two fingers.
From a quick search, I’ve never heard of these as far this east as Oklahoma.
Thoughts?
BugGuide does not show the range as far east as Oklahoma, so we suspect you saw something else.
Here’s the bug:
https://youtu.be/cKDGlkbK514
Cottonwood Borer!
Got it! Thanks for your help.
We were going to suggest a Cottonwood Borer, but we thought they looked too different and they are in fact larger than Banded Alder Borers.
Just found three in Ukiah, CA. Apparently, it is mating season….
Put them up on ebay. I’d surely buy or bid on them.
My kids just came to me and said, ” Mom what’s this weird looking bug?” From my understanding they’re common in the west and I’m in the South. Lake Charles Louisiana specifically. So I would like to know are they common in my area?
The Banded Alder Borer does not occur that far East.
See BugGuide.
Please submit an image using the Ask WTB? link on our site.
How do I get rid of them?
We do not provide extermination advice.
Just had one on on my windshield in HOUSTON TX. I wouldn’t get out the car. I had my son come out and move it!!! I know it’s not suppose to be here in Houston but it is!!! I have pics also!
Considering your location, we suspect you observed a Cottonwood Borer.
Just found one of these this morning on my weeper hose in my veggie garden in Keizer OR. Seemed very lethargic.
We do Appliance Refurberation/Recycling & found 1 that came out from under a Refrigerator on 7-29-2019 @ 8:15pm in N.E. Salem, Or.
Found one on a log jam at the Deschutes River in Olympia, WA on July 26, 2019
Just saw one on the beach at Deception Pass State Park on the northern end of Whidbey Island, WA. Just wandering along the sand… I have great pics but don’t know how to post one here.
Just found two out on a downed rotting log in our yard, we have 5 acres! It was incredible!
Have one in vegetable garden.
We’re in Sonoma County, California. We have a few downed oak limbs and some old wood stacked. Spectacular!
I found one in Austin TX