The Anoplophora chinensis, or Citrus long-horned beetle is a serious pest. It is found in Southeast Asia; so countries such as, China, Japan, and Korea. They are also found in Taiwan, The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Their coloration is pretty unique.

The Citrus long-horned beetle is pretty interesting to look at. It definitely has a more unique coloration compared to other animals. The general size of these beetles is about 21-37mm, (1-1.5 in. long).They are black with white spots, and, obviously, have long, dramatic antennae. Their antennae have alternating black and white strips and the antennae are at least as long at their body. They have no specific adaptations. Something that identifies it from other species of beetles is that it has two pairs of white bumps at the base of the elytra. Clearly, this species of beetles have interesting coloration.

At I mentioned in the first paragraph, the Citrus long-horned beetle is mostly found in Southeast Asia. It is considered a serious pest in China, Japan, and Korea. These beetles are also found in The Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. They are found in both urban areas and forests. They do well in their habitat because they have plenty of trees to eat. This beetle was first found in the U.S. in April, 1999. But more seriously, they were later discovered in Washington on August, 9, 2001. The people try to kill it off once it enters the U.S. .The population is unknown. So it is also unknown if the population is growing or shrinking.

These beetles are herbivores. So they are above the plants in the food pyramid. They would be the predators of trees in the food web. They kill trees by chewing on them. After the female lays her eggs, each egg is separately put into the tree bark. After the larvae hatches, it chews into the tree, forming a tunnel. Their primary hosts include, lime, lemon, maple, and orange trees. But they attack a wide range of trees and shrubs. They have no natural enemies and they don’t really compete with anyone for food. As you can see, these beetles are harmful to many trees.

The Citrus long-horned beetles are a real pain to many trees. If these beetles didn’t exist, there would be more trees in the world. What stood out to me is that these beetles don’t really have to compete with anyone else for food, and they don’t really have any predators. I learned a lot about Anoplophora chinensis, and I hope whoever reads this will too.

Author: Neha N.
Published: 1/13

Source: http://wiki.bugwood.org/Anoplophora_chinensis

Picture Source: http://www.stackyard.com/news/2006/07/environment/citrus_longhorn_beetle.jpg