Banded Ash Borer

Pest Description

• adults: 1/2 – 1 inch; black to dark brown beetles with yellow markings on the wings
• larvae: up to 1 1/4 inches long; white grubs with or without legs

Host Plants, Diet & Damage

• ash, hickory, elm, mesquite, white oak
• larvae feed on phloem and sapwood under the bark
• attack primarily unhealthy or damaged trees
• unhealthy trees or individual branches may die from continued infestation
• typically considered a firewood pest when adults emerge from cut logs inside homes
• damage could be confused with that of emerald ash borer

Biology, Life Cycle & Damaging Life Stage

• overwinter as adults under the bark
• adults emerge in spring and deposit eggs on host bark
• larvae feed under the bark in the phloem and later in the sapwood
• larvae pupate in the fall
• one generation per year
• larvae are the damaging stage

IPM Recommendations

• Manage trees to improve or maintain overall health.
• Prune infested wood/branches.
• On trees with ongoing infestations, apply an insecticide (carbamate; pyrethroid) to the bark on the trunk and large scaffold branches in spring prior to egg laying.
• For firewood, allow insects to complete their life cycle outside before bringing the wood inside.
• Beetles will not infest structural wood, furniture, etc., and are only a nuisance indoors.