Honeylocust Borer

Pest Description

• adults: 1/4 – 3/4 inch; slender, black with greenish-purple reflections
• beetle with yellow spots on abdomen below the wings
• larvae: creamy white with an enlarged head area; tapeworm-like appearance

Host Plants, Diet & Damage

• honeylocust
• feed on phloem and etch sapwood of main trunk or branches \
• affect damaged areas of honeylocust bark, especially sun-scalded areas
• wet areas on bark and oozing from bore holes
• create serpentine galleries under the bark
• leave diagnostic, D-shaped exit holes in bark
• can cause canopy dieback or rarely complete tree death
• trees attacked by this insect are usually in poor condition, damaged, or grown in harsh hardscapes

Biology, Life Cycle & Damaging Life Stage

• overwinter as larvae under the bark or in the sapwood
• adults present late-May through September
• eggs laid singly or in groups under bark flaps
• one generation per year
• prefer stressed, weakened trees
• larvae are the damaging stage

IPM Recommendations

• Keep trees well watered.
• Plant in sites that minimize stress on honeylocust.
• Prevent mechanical or environmental injury to trees.
• Apply an insecticide (carbamate; pyrethroid) to bark of stressed or injured trees prior to and during peak beetle flight.