T
he velvet longhorned beetle
(Trichoferus campestris) is an
exotic, invasive insect native to parts
of Asia and eastern Russia. It was
first found in the United States around
2000, likely introduced on solid wood
packing material. Since that time, it
has been trapped in a number of states,
including New York, Ohio, Colorado
and Minnesota, and it is established in
Utah and Illinois.
In April 2018, a velvet longhorned
beetle (VLB) emerged from furniture
built from black walnut (Juglans
nigra) harvested in southeastern South
Dakota near the Nebraska border. Due
to this find, the Nebraska Department
of Agriculture will be setting and
monitoring traps for VLB in 2018.
VLB can be a serious pest of trees,
and has a wide host range. It is most
commonly found in apple and mulberry
trees, but is also known to infest honey
locust, maple, birch, spruce, pine,
willow, elm, cherry and peach trees.
The borer infests both healthy and
declining trees, and can complete its
development in dead trees.
Adult VLBs are ½ to ¾ inch in
length, with antennae nearly as long
as their bodies. Adults are brown with
scattered, light colored hairs on their
thorax and wing covers, and they
are very difficult to distinguish from
some of our native beetles, including
pine sawyers. Adult VLBs emerge
April through August. After emerging,
adults mate, and females lay eggs on
tree bark. Larvae hatch and bore into
the tree, where they feed under the
bark. Late in the season, larvae bore
deeper into the wood to overwinter, and
pupate, before emerging in the spring.
VLBs take one to two years to
complete their life cycle, depending
on the quality of wood on which they
feed. Dead, dry wood may increase
the length of time to reach maturity.
Adult beetles have emerged from wood
furniture more than 18 months after the
furniture was purchased.
Pests like VLB can be transported
on firewood. Leave your firewood
at home, and instead obtain it where
you plan to burn it. Nearly 20
states regulate firewood movement
through laws and quarantines, and
several federal quarantines also
regulate firewood movement. Visit
dontmovefirewood.org for more
information on state and federal
firewood rules.
■
To report a possible VLB, contact the
Nebraska Department of Agriculture at
402-471-2351 or agr.plant@nebraska.
gov.
By Julie Van Meter
State Entomologist,
Nebraska
Department
of Agriculture
JULY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 17
Bug Banter
Chinese Longhorned Beetle.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER PIERCE,
USDA APHIS PPQ, BUGWOOD.ORG.
Presented by
