Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1854)
[= Cerosterna glabripennis Motschulsky, 1853]
[= Melanauster glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1853)]
[= Anoplophora laevigator (Thomson, 1857)]

Subfamilia: LAMIINAE  /  Tribus: MONOCHAMINI
Anoplophora glabripennis
[Photo © Sergei O. Kakunin, click on the picture for 4K resolution]



Anoplophora glabripennis, an indigenous species to China and Korea, has been described from Beijing environs as Cerosterna glabripennis by Victor Ivanovitsch Motschulsky in 1853 [▿]. A. glabripennis, also known by the trivial name "Asian longhorned beetle", was introduced to the United States in the 1990s and to Europe (Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Slovakia) and Turkey in the early 21st century. In the USA in particular [✧], it is considered a dangerous pest of ornamental trees in urban agglomerations, and a lot of effort and resources have been expended in its elimination.

The A. glabripennis early stage larvae feed in the cambial layer of bark in thick branches and trunks of living deciduous trees. Older larvae later enter the heartwood where create long galleries and also pupal cells. Field studies have shown that one larva is capable of destroying approximately 1000 cm3 of timber before pupation. Life cycle (1 - 2 years) and also adults activity (from May to October) depends on climatic conditions [❖].

Body length:20 - 35 mm
Life cycle:1 - 2 years
Adults in:May - October
Host plant:broadly polyphagous in deciduous trees (Acer, Aesculus, Alnus, Betula, Fagus, Eleagnus, Fraxinus, Malus, Platanus, Populus, Pyrus, Quercus, Salix, Ulmus, etc.)
Distribution:original distribution area: China and Korea, introduced to USA, Canada, Europe, Russian Far East and Turkey


The depicted beetles (♂ 22 mm / ♀ 26 mm) were collected in Mt. Yufengshan environs (600 m a.s.l., Tingzhou, Huaihua, Hunan province, China) in July 2015.

Collected by a local Chinese collector (in Sergei O. Kakunin collection)


[▿]
Motschulsky V.I.:
Diagnoses de Coléoptères nouveaux, trouvés par M. M. Tatarinoff et Gaschkéwitsch aux environs de Pékin.
Études Entomologiques 2 [1853]: 44-51, 1854. [download pdf icon]

[✧]
Britton K.O. and Sun J.-H.:
Unwelcome Guests: Exotic Forest Pests.
Acta Entomologica Sinica 45 (1): 121-130, 2002. [download pdf icon]

[❖]
Hu J., Angeli S., Schuetz S., Luo Y. and Hajek A.E.:
Ecology and management of exotic and endemic Asian longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis.
Agricultural and Forest Entomology 11, 359–375, 2009. [download pdf icon]



 
SubfamiliaLamiinae Latreille, 1825
TribusMonochamini Gistel, 1848
GenusAnoplophora Hope, 1839
SpeciesAnoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1854)