NATIVE RANGE: East Asia

FIRST FINDING IN SLOVENIA: not yet found in Slovenia

PATHWAYS: transported with live plants and wood

POSSIBLE TO FIND: year-round

FLIGHT SEASON OF ADULTS: May-August

DESCRIPTION: Adults are shiny black beetles, 25–40 mm long, whose elytra have numerous small, irregular white spots with many small protuberances on the bases of the elytra. The antennae are 1.2x to double their body length, with 11 segments, each with a whitish-blue base. The larva is a maggot, 50–60 mm long, 10 mm in diameter, creamy white in colour and boring tunnels in wood, 10–30 mm across. Adults exit through emergence holes of cca. 10–20  mm diameter. The damaged trees suffer dieback. They overwinter as larvae.

HABITAT: They are polyphagous on deciduous trees and occur in a range of natural habitats, agricultural and urban areas, plantations and tree nurseries. Larvae live in wood while adult beetles can be found in the canopy, on the bark of the trunk and branches.

STATUS: Found in urban sites in several European countries. Eradication measures are underway.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Very similar is the Asian longhorn beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), which has smooth elytron bases while the larvae are similar to larvae of other cerambycids.

SOURCE: Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests