Black Locust Borer
A few weeks ago, my friend Sandra Tayler called me to tell me that her neighbor had a bug-infested tree, and if I wanted pictures I needed to come over before they could get back from the garden store with pesticides. Can I just say that friends who have their priorities straight like this are awesome?
This is a locust borer, a name which has nothing to do with locusts or grasshoppers. This is a beetle that has evolved to the point where it can only feed and reproduce on one species of tree: black locust. (There’s another beetle that can only feed on honey locust.) Now, black locust is a weed tree that used to only grow in the mountainous regions of the Eastern United States, and so this critter was pretty well hemmed into its niche, happily boring 8mm holes into the trunks and branches of locust trees. But one day a landscaper discovered that rich people can’t tell the difference between weed trees and exotic plants, and since locust doesn’t look half bad and is pretty hard to kill, it became an instant favorite for landscaping jobs throughout North America.
As the black locust spread across the continent, so did the black locust borer–mostly by living on and laying eggs in the trees that were being shipped around the country. They are now quite happy to be regarded as a significant pest with a range that spans the continent.
Slowly getting the site back onto an even keel. It's nice to get back into the old posting rhythm.
jerith said,
October 2, 2007 @ 9:15 am
Did the Taylerlings get in on the action? I can see this kind of thing appealing to Gleek…
If they only live on one plant and that plant is hard t okill, why are they significant pests? Do they get into other things and wreak havoc?
jerith said,
October 2, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Also, I think Google’s startign to get the hang of this website. Today I got ads for “Land & Water Bugs on CD” and “The Bone Room: Supplier of insect specimens and insect collecting supplies.”
David Brady said,
October 2, 2007 @ 11:03 am
Locust is hard to kill, but locust borers are good at it.
Howard Tayler said,
October 2, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Actually, Gleek was the one who reported the bugs to Sandra…
David Brady said,
October 2, 2007 @ 11:58 pm
Awesome! I did not realize. I shall thank her specially next time I come by.
DeeJaye6 said,
October 4, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
But you have this beetle listed in the “True Bugs” category. It’s not a true bug. The head is the wrong shape, as are the eyes, and it has chewing mouthparts; a true bug has a proboscis. Sorry, just thought you’d like to know.
David Brady said,
October 4, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
DeeJay6: Thank you, you are correct–I have beetles misfiled. For some reason I thought I had seen Coleoptera under Heteroptera. I will correct the misfiling in the archives presently.
Thanks!