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

FLIFGT SEASON OF ADULTS: April-October

DESCRIPTION: A shiny black beetle; 25–35 mm long and 7–12 mm wide. Elytra with ca. 20 small, irregularly shaped white spots and a smooth base. The antennae are 1.3–2.5-times longer than the body, with 11  black segments, each with an a whitish-blue base. The larva is an elongate (max. 50 mm long, 10 mm wide), cream coloured maggot which bores tunnels in wood, 10–30 mm in diameter. Adults exit through emergence holes ca. 10–15 mm in diameter, usually in the upper part of the trunk or at the bases of the branches. 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: The citrus longhorn beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) is very similar but has numerous small protuberances (granulae) on the base of the elytra. The larvae are similar to larvae of other cerambycids.

SOURCE: Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests