Subject: black/green striped beetle
Geographic location of the bug: Walla Walla, WA
Date: 09/18/2018
Time: 09:26 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello, we found this inch-long beetle on a lemongrass plant in our yard. It’s not in any of our guidebooks. What is it?
How you want your letter signed: Beetle-befuddled
Dear Beetle-befuddled,
This is a Locust Borer, and if your guidebooks are Pacific Northwest local, and not published very recently, they probably don’t include this distinctive beetle because it has recently expanded its range of eastern North America because of the cultivation of its host tree, the black locust. According to BugGuide: “Previously confined to the native range of Black Locust in the northeast, it has spread with the trees throughout the US and parts of Canada. Black Locust is used for reclamation and similar projects where trees are likely to be stressed and thus more vulnerable to damage.”