Birch-pest
Guides
Agrilus anxius
bronze birch borer
Agrilus anxius, the bronze birch borer, is a wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae native to North America. It is a significant pest of birch trees (Betula spp.), with larvae tunneling through the cambial layer and frequently killing host trees. River birch (Betula nigra) shows the greatest resistance among native North American birches, while European and Asian birch species lack resistance entirely. The species is closely related to the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) and has been the subject of taxonomic confusion, with historical reports conflating birch-feeding and poplar-feeding populations that were later recognized as distinct species.
Profenusa
oak mining sawflies, birch leafmining sawflies
Profenusa is a genus of leaf-mining sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae. Species in this genus are primarily associated with trees in the genera Quercus (oaks) and Betula (birches), though at least one species, P. japonica, has been documented on Rosa multiflora. Larvae are internal leaf miners that feed on mesophyll tissue, creating blotch mines. Several species are economically significant as forest and urban pests, including the invasive P. pygmaea in Kazakhstan and P. thomsoni in North America.
Profenusa thomsoni
amber-marked birch leaf miner, amber-marked birch leaf-miner sawfly
Profenusa thomsoni is a small sawfly native to the Palearctic realm that has become invasive in North America. Adults are black, approximately 3 mm long, and fly-like in appearance. The species is notable for its all-female parthenogenetic reproduction and for creating distinctive blotch-shaped leaf mines in birch foliage. Larval feeding damage can cause significant defoliation, though populations in parts of North America have declined due to parasitoid pressure.
Synanthedon culiciformis
large red-belted clearwing, Large Red-belted Clearwing Moth
Synanthedon culiciformis is a clearwing moth in the family Sesiidae, distributed across the Palearctic and Nearctic realms. Adults are active from April to August and exhibit wasp-mimicking coloration. The species develops as a wood-boring larva in deciduous trees, particularly birch and alder.