Cottonwood-borer
Guides
Plectrodera
cottonwood borer
Plectrodera is a monotypic genus of longhorned beetles (family Cerambycidae) containing the single species Plectrodera scalator, commonly known as the cottonwood borer. The species is among the largest and most visually distinctive cerambycids in North America, recognized by its striking black-and-white checkered pattern formed by dense mats of white setae on a glossy black body. Adults are associated with cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and are found across the eastern two-thirds of the United States, particularly in the Great Plains.