Woodboring
Guides
Dicerca lugubris
Dicerca lugubris is a jewel beetle species in the family Buprestidae, described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1860. It is characterized by dark metallic coloration and moderate size among its congeners. The species has been recorded from scattered localities across northern and central North America, with documented association with jack pine (Pinus banksiana). Like other members of the genus Dicerca, it is a woodboring beetle whose larvae develop in dead or dying trees.
Dicerca sexualis
Dicerca sexualis is a Nearctic jewel beetle (family Buprestidae) described by Crotch in 1873. It belongs to a genus of woodboring beetles characterized by cryptic coloration that provides excellent camouflage against tree bark. Like other Dicerca species, adults are active year-round and are associated with dead or dying hardwood trees. The species is recorded from western North America, including British Columbia, Canada.
Hylotrupes
House Longhorns, House Longhorn Beetle, Old House Borer, European House Borer, Italian Beetle
Hylotrupes is a monotypic genus of woodboring beetles in the family Cerambycidae, containing only the species Hylotrupes bajulus. The genus is the sole member of the tribe Hylotrupini. The species has been introduced globally through timber trade and is recognized as a significant pest of structural softwood timber. Adults are active in summer months, while larvae develop slowly within wood.
Megarhyssa macrurus icterosticta
Megarhyssa macrurus icterosticta is a subspecies of giant ichneumon wasp, among the largest ichneumonids in North America. Males of this subspecies are smaller than those of the sympatric species M. atrata, with more brown than black body coloration and wings that are clear with a well-developed spot on the costal margin. Females possess extremely long ovipositors used to parasitize woodboring larvae of Tremex columba (pigeon horntail) in decaying hardwoods, particularly at shallower depths than those reached by larger congeners.
Megarhyssa macrurus macrurus
giant ichneumon wasp
Megarhyssa macrurus macrurus is a North American giant ichneumon wasp and among the largest members of family Ichneumonidae. Females possess extremely long, slender ovipositors used to parasitize woodboring larvae of the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba) deep within tree trunks. Males aggregate on host trees and exhibit distinctive tergal stroking behavior, rubbing their abdomen tips against bark. This subspecies co-occurs with the larger M. atrata, with which it shares host resources through spatial partitioning based on ovipositor length differences.
Pogonocherus parvulus
Pogonocherus parvulus is a small longhorned beetle (Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) described by John Lawrence LeConte in 1852. The species occurs across northern North America, with records from multiple Canadian provinces and the United States. Like other members of the genus Pogonocherus, it is associated with coniferous hosts, though specific biological details remain poorly documented in the literature.
Polycaon stoutii
Stout's branch borer, black polycaon, Stout's Hardwood Borer
Polycaon stoutii is a woodboring beetle in the family Bostrichidae. Adults are cylindrical, hairy, and black, measuring 10-23 mm. The species is native to western North America but has been introduced to other regions through wood commerce. It is known for exceptionally long larval development periods and occasional emergence from finished wood products.
Saperda obliqua
Alder Borer
Saperda obliqua is a longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae, described by Thomas Say in 1826. It is commonly known as the Alder Borer due to its association with alder trees (Alnus spp.). The species occurs in Canada and the United States, with its southwestern distributional limit in Missouri.
Tetropium cinnamopterum
Eastern Larch Borer
Tetropium cinnamopterum is a native North American cerambycid beetle in the tribe Tetropiini. Adults are distinguished from the closely related T. parvulum by eye shape, scutellar structure, external genitalia, and pronotal puncture number; larvae are distinguished by urogomphi morphology. The species has been recorded from various conifer hosts, with larvae developing in conifer wood. It is transcontinental in Canada and occurs sympatrically with invasive T. fuscum in Atlantic Canada, where cross-attraction to the aggregation pheromone fuscumol may occur. Both sexes respond to (S)-fuscumol synergized by host monoterpenes and ethanol.