Subject: invasive Longhorn beetle or native?
Geographic location of the bug: South Texas
Date: 08/26/2019
Time: 12:42 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Found this beetle and i was wondering what kind is it and if it is native of Texas
How you want your letter signed: Gabe
Hi Gabe,
Your images are quite artful. This is a Round Headed Apple Borer, a native to North America. According to the Michigan State University Integrated Pest Management System: “Attack apples mainly, but most deciduous tree fruits are susceptible. The larvae dig tunnels, most often at the base of the tree trunk. The roundheaded borer leaves accumulations of reddish frass at the entrance of galleries. Infested trees have a sickly appearance, producing sparse, pale-colored foliage (C). Continued yearly attacks can kill the tree or weaken it so that it is broken off by the wind. Young trees that have been girdled will often bloom profusely and set a heavy crop of fruit and then die in the process of bringing it to maturity.”
Correction: Neoptychodes trilineatus
We just received a comment from Brady Richards correcting this misidentification. According to BugGuide: “Although Ficus is the primary host, larvae also develop in Alnus, Morus, Salix, Celtis. ”
Actually, this beetle is Neoptychodes trilineatus: https://bugguide.net/node/view/118212. It’s a flat-faced longhorned beetle (Lamiinae) like Saperda, but notice the median stripe and also the much bigger antennal scapes. In the US, this species is found mainly in the southwestern states. It also ranges down to South America.
Thanks so much for the correction on this.