Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae
Subfamily: Lamiinae
Tribe: Monochamini
Genus: Anoplophora
Species: A. glabripennis
Binomial name: Anoplophora glabripennis
Synonyms; Anoplophora nobilis, Anthonomus aeneotinctus
Common name: Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB), Starry sky, Sky beetle.
Anoplophora glabripennis is a large wood-boring beetle and is an unwanted pest worldwide. It is not present in New Zealand yet. It is native to eastern China, Japan, and Korea. It is a serious pest in China. This species has now been accidentally introduced to countries around the world in solid wood packaging material.
Some of its host trees include Acer spp. (maples), Salix spp.(willows), Betula (birch), Morus (mulberry), Populus (popular), Quercus (oaks), Prunus sp (plum), Pyrus (pear), Robinia psuedoacacia (black locust), Ulmus spp (elms), and many others.
The adult Asian longhorned beetle is active during summertime. The adult is large, shiny, black beetle with a body ranging from 1.7 to 3.9 cm. The antennae are >40 mm long and are up to twice the length of the body. The antennae have a white band at the base of each segment. There are about 20 irregular white spots on each wing cover.
The most destructive phase of the lifecycle is the larval stage. The beetle larvae tunnel through the wood and cause severe damage. Because the larvae develop inside the tree, there may be no obvious external indications of the beetle’s presence. The most visible sign of a beetle infestation is when distinctive, round exit holes are made by the adult when it chews a tunnel to the surface after pupating inside the tree. These exit holes can be 18mm in diameter.
If you find this exotic beetle here in New Zealand you must report it to NZ Biosecurity by phoning their Hotline 24/7 0800 80 99 66
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and Information: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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