Citrus longhorned beetle

Scientific name

Anoplophora chinensis (Coloptera: Cerambicidae)

Other common names

white-spotted longicorn beetle, citrus-root cerambycid, black and white longicorn beetle

Similar species

Asian long-horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis

southern whitespotted sawyer, Monochamus titillator

Distribution

United States: not known to occur, eradicated from Georgia, Hawaii, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Worldwide: China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Native to China, Japan, and Korea.

Diagnostic characteristics

Adults

• Females, 35 mm (1.38 in.) in length, males, 25 mm (0.98 in.) in length.
• Shiny black with numerous white spots.
• Elongate.
• Four wings. Forewings hardened (elytra). Hindwings are membranousmembranous:
  with the same character as a membrane, typically used to refer to structures like wings that are clear and translucent like a membrane
  and covered by the elytra at rest.
• In females, elytra do not cover the entire abdomenabdomen:
  one of the three body segments in insects; the most posterior segment containing the heart, reproductive organs, and digestive organs
  and are rounded at the tips.
• In males, elytra do cover the entire abdomenabdomen:
  one of the three body segments in insects; the most posterior segment containing the heart, reproductive organs, and digestive organs
  and taper towards the tips.
• Antennae have 11 segments in both sexes.
• Antennae of females approximately 1.2 times the length of the body; antennae of males are very long, approximately 1.7 to 2 times the body length, and have alternating white and black bands.

Pupae

• 27 - 38 mm (1.06 - 1.5 in.).
• Off-white in color.
• The forward top of the middle body segment (pronotum) is entirely black.

Larvae

• Four larval instars.
• 5 mm (0.20 in.) at hatching; grows to 52 mm (2.0 in.) before pupation.
• Creamy white with some yellow. Headhead:
  one of the three main body segments in insects; the anterior-most segment containing the many sensory structures including the eyes, antennae, and mouthparts
  is amber colored with black mouthparts.
• Legless, round-headed grubgrub:
  an immature stage in the life cycle of insects; larvae of beetles are often referred to as grubs
  .

Eggs

• 5.5 mm (0.22 in.) long and 1.7 mm (0.07 in.) in width, about the size of a grain of rice.
• Creamy white initially, turning yellowish-brown when ready to hatch.
• Smooth and elongate, approximately cylindrical with tapering at both ends.

Hosts

Citrus hosts

• Citrus limonia
• king Mandarin, Citrus nobilis
• pummelo, Citrus maxima
• sour orange, Citrus aurantium
• sweet orange, Citrus sinensis

Non-citrus hosts

• Acacia spp.
• alder, Alnus spp.
• apple, Malus spp.
• Aralia spp.
• ash, Fraxinus spp.
• Atalantia spp.
• avocado, Persea spp.
• birch, Betula spp.
• Camellia spp.
• Carya spp.
• chestnut, Castanea spp.
• Cotoneaster spp.
• crepe myrtle, Lagerstroemia spp.
• elm, Ulmus spp.
• Fagus spp.
• Ficus spp.
• guava, Psidium spp.
• hawthorn, Crateaegus spp.
• Hibiscus spp.
• holly, Illex ssp.
• hornbeam, Carpinus spp.
• horse-chestnut, Aesculus spp.
• ivy, Hedera spp.
• Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria spp.
• jujube, Ziziphus spp.
• kumquat, Fortunella spp.
• Lindera spp.
• lychee, Litchi spp.
• loquat, Eriobotrya spp.
• locust, Robinia spp.
• maple, Acer spp.
• mountain ash, Sorbus spp.
• mulberry, Morus spp.
• oak, Quercus spp.
• paper mulberry, Broussonetia spp.
• pear, Pyrus spp.
• pigeon pea, Cajanus spp.
• pine, Pinus spp.
• poplar, Populus spp.
• Rosa spp.
• Rubus spp.
• silky oak, Grevillea spp.
• snowbell, Styrax spp.
• sycamore, Platanus spp.
• stone fruit, Prunus spp.
• sumac, Rhus spp.
• walnut, Juglans spp.
• willow, Salix spp.

Host damage

Leaves

• Adults feed on leaves and petioles.
• Can cause yellowing or drooping during hot weather but do not generally cause severe damage.

Roots

• Damage to fibrous roots.
• Tunneling into larger roots.

Trunk

• Eggs deposited under the bark of the trunk.

Twigs

• Adults feed on twigs but cause limited damage.
• Larvae burrow into the wood interfering with water and nutrient transport.
• Secondary infection is more likely after infestation.

Biology

In tropical and sub-tropical conditions, one generationgeneration:
the time it takes for an insect to develop from egg to adult
per year is common. The insect takes 1 - 2 years to complete its development. Eggs are laid by the females in a 3 - 4 mm (0.12 - 0.16 in.) transverse slit in the bark of the lower trunk that resembles a reverse "T-shape." Larvae feed on inner bark, making irregular tunnels in the wood. The egg chamber is plugged by a sticky secretion from the female. It is estimated that 90% of the longhorned beetle larvae mature below ground. Typical signs of infestation include round or slightly oval emergenceemergence:
used to describe the completion pupation that culminates in the appearance of the adult form of an insect
holes 6 - 9 mm (0.24 - 0.35 in.), piles of sawdust and excrement (frass), and oozing sap. The beetles are strong fliers.

Comments

The insect can arrive on woody plants. It was discovered in Tukwila, Washington in 2001 on a Japanese maple bonsai imported from Korea. Wood packing material may provide a means of dispersal.

The beetle is targeted for eradication in the United States.

Synonyms for the citrus long-horned beetle include Anoplophora malaisica.

References

Hérard, F., M. Ciampitti, M. Maspero, H. Krehan, U. Benker, C. Boegel, R. Schrage, L. Bouhot-Delduc, and P. Bialooki. 2006. Anoplophora species in Europe: infestations and management processes. EPPO Bulletin 36: 470-474. (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118562558/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0).

(IUCN/SSC) Invasiveinvasive:
term used to describe species that are not native and have the ability to adversely effect habitats they invade either ecologically or economically
Species Specialist Group. 2009. Global Invasiveinvasive:
term used to describe species that are not native and have the ability to adversely effect habitats they invade either ecologically or economically
Species Database: Anoplophora chinensis. (http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=1404&fr=1&sts=sss).

(NAPPO) North American Plant Protection Organization. 2008. NAPPO phytosanitary alert system: Anoplophora chinensis (Forster, 1771), citrus longhorned beetle discovered in two Washington state nurseries (U.S.A.). (http://www.pestalert.org/viewArchPestAlert.cfm?rid=72).

(NAPIS) National Agricultural Pest Information System. 2008. Pest tracker: reported status of citrus longhorned beetle Anoplophora chinensis (http://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/searchmap.php?selectName=INALRBA).

(USDA APHIS) United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 2009. Federal order: Anoplophora chinensis (Forster), the citrus longhorned beetle (CLB) and Anoplophora glabripennis, Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/federal_order/downloads/citrus_alb_2009_16_1.pdf).

Walker, K. 2008. Citrus longhorned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) Pest and diseases image library. (http://www.padil.gov.au/viewPestDiagnosticImages.aspx?id=268).

Gyeltshen, J. and A. Hodges. 2005. Featured creatures fact sheet: Citrus longhorned beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Publication EENY-357. University of Florida. (http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/beetles/citrus_longhorned_beetle.htm).

Authors

Weeks, J.A., K.W. Martin, A.C. Hodges, and N.C. Leppla