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Monochamus titillator
Classification
Diagnostic Features of Larvae
- Larva. Form very elongate, slightly depressed; integument firm, shining, rather densely clothed with yellowish brown hairs. Head strongly depressed, suddenly constricted behind middle; labrum roundly oval, slightly wider than long, densely hairy in front; antennal ring entire; mandible slender, about three times as long as basal width, cutting edge broadly emarginate. Ventral mouth-parts rather strongly chitinized; mentum distinct, one and one-half times as wide as long; palpi slender, joint of last maxillary acute, shorter than second or last labial; gula protuberant. Prothorax depressed, rectangular; posterior area of pronotum velvety asperate, spotted with small glabrous areas, anteriorly glabrous and having a dense group of hairs at anterior extremities. Mesonotum anteriorly dull pubescent, posteriorly shining; metanotum tuberculate; mesosternum and metasternum bearing two transverse rows of velvety asperities on broken tubercles. Abdomen depressed; dorsal ampullae bearing four rows of tubercles, these more or less confluent in the middle, and all asperate pubescent; ventral ampullae bearing two rows of tubercles. Epipleurum protuberant on all segments; pleural tubercle elongate oval, bearing a chitinous pit at each extremity and about ten setae. Spiracles oval, chitinous rimmed. Dorsal anal lobe large, projecting posteriorly beyond others. Pupa: Form as in adult; antennae folded over wing in several coils. Beset with acute chitinous spines as follows: Groups on front of head and labrum, and on anterior margin, disc, base and lateral tubercles of protergum; two converging rows on mesonotum and metanotum; two transverse bands on posterior border of first six abdominal segments. Last abdominal deeply divided beneath, dorsally projecting into a large acute, chitinous-tipped process. This species, commonly known as "the southern pine sawyer," has been found from Maine south through Texas. It is very destructive to storm-felled trees, in one season's time often rendering the timber practically valueless. In the extreme south several generations occur each year. Adapted from Craighead, 1923).
Biology and Economic Importance
- Members of this tribe include one of the most notorious cerambycids: the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis. In 1996, this invasive species was discovered in New York City and later in Chicago. Native to China and the Korean peninsula, ALB was accidentally imported into the U.S. via wooden shipping materials (Lingafelter & Hoebeke 2002). By 1998, ALB infestations resulted in the destruction of nearly 7,000 trees. Recently, the USDA estimated that, if left uncontrolled, ALB and other Chinese wood boring beetles could cause more than $100 billion in damage to the US economy (Meyer 2010). Accidental introductions continue, and as recently as 2011 a population of ALB was detected in southwest Ohio (USDA-APHIS 2011).
Selected References to Larvae Specimens
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