Citrus Longhorned Beetle
Anoplophora chinensis
A long-whiskered guest that turns tree trunks into cradles
The Citrus Longhorned Beetle is a large longhorn beetle with black wing covers (elytra) marked in white spots and antennae over twice its body length. Larvae bore into tree trunks and roots, a major pest of citrus, poplar, and willow. Females cut egg notches in bark; larvae feed in wood 1–2 years before pupating.
Key figures
- Length
- About 20–39 mm; in males the antennae can reach nearly twice the body length
- Life cycle
- Larvae bore inside the trunk for 1–2 years; adults live about 1 month
- Habitat
- Broadleaf forests, orchards, and city street trees; larvae tunnel inside the wood of living trees
- Diet
- Larvae bore into the wood of trunks and roots; adults gnaw young bark and twigs for extra nutrition
- Damage
- Larvae tunnel galleries inside the trunk, which can weaken the tree or kill it outright
- Senses
- The long, whip-like antennae are covered in receptors that sense scent and vibration to locate host trees and mates
Life cycle
Egg (laid in a notch cut into the bark) → Larva (tunnels in the trunk, 1–2 years) → Pupa → Adult
Ecological role
Citrus Longhorned Beetle larvae bore into the wood of living trees, making the species a major trunk-boring pest of citrus, poplar, willow, and other economically important and street trees. Prolonged infestation can leave trees prone to windthrow or even kill them outright, and the beetle is listed as a quarantine pest in many countries.
Did you know
Native to East Asia, this beetle is often carried to Europe and North America in nursery stock and wood packaging, establishing wild populations in Italy and France within two decades via human trade.
Range
Native to China, the Korean Peninsula, and Vietnam; now invasive in several European countries and repeatedly intercepted in North America
Status
A major quarantine pest — common in its native range, and closely monitored and controlled where introduced
Anatomy
- Antennae — Long, whip-like antennae banded black and white, reaching nearly twice the body length
- Elytra — Black wing covers dotted with irregular white spots; the pattern varies slightly between individuals
- Mandibles — Stout jaws, used by adults to gnaw bark for extra nutrition; females also use them to cut egg-laying notches
- Compound Eyes — Kidney-shaped and set around the base of the antennae, leaving room for the antennae to move freely
- Pronotum — The saddle-like plate behind the head bears a sharp spine on each side, a common defensive feature in the longhorn beetle family
- Legs — The feet (tarsi) are covered in dense adhesive hairs that help it grip smooth bark
Open the interactive 3D specimen