Notch-tipped Flower Longhorn

Most long horned beetles have elongated, cylindrical, bodies and back sweeping antennae that are
often three times longer than the body.  Some measure only 1/4 inch long while there are a few
giants that reach 3 inches in length.  Many are admired for their beautiful colors and long antennae.

Adults feed on wood, roots, leaves, and pollen and are rarely carnivorous.  Some, especially the
brightly colored species, feed on flowers during the day.  Their bright colors enable them to blend
in with the foliage and flowers and to feed unmolested.  Other varieties come out from under logs
and loose bark and feed only at night.

Most larvae, called round headed borers, are white and often ruin cut logs by tunneling through
the wood,  with some varieties invading living trees.  Sawdust around a hole in a tree's bark is a
common sign of the presence of long horned larvae.  This large beetle family has over 1,200
species in N. America.

             Long-Jawed Longhorn

The Long-jawed Longhorn beetle measures from 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches in length, had an elongated,
oval shape that is narrowed at the rear, and is black with two incomplete yellow crossbands that
are interrupted by black along the midline. The antennae are black and yellow with the male's
being much longer than the body.  This beetle gets it's name from the fact that it has narrow, claw-
like mandibles ( Jaws ) which are longer than it's head.

This beetle variety can be found in hardwood forests from Mexico to Texas and New Mexico, west
to California.

Larva feeds on dead branches of various trees which include citrus and paloverde.  Eggs are laid on
bark with larvae tunneling into the wood to feed and to pupate near the wood surface.  The adults
emerge in late July to early August.  Adults are nocturnal in nature and can be found under the bark
of fallen trees during the day.  They are hunted by woodpeckers and other birds who feed on the
beetles

                            Pine Sawyer

This is another member of the long-horned beetle family and measures 1 5/8 to 2 1/4 inches in
length.  It is a slender beetle, somewhat flattened, with the head and pronotum being a dark reddish-
brown.  The sides of the pronotum ( upper surface of the prothorax) have a few large, and numerous
small,  sharp teeth.

These beetles live in forests above the 4,000 ft level and can be found from Montana to Arizona,
west to California, and north to British Columbia.  The larva eat sapwood and heartwood of pines
and Douglas firs.
 

          Black Pine Sawyer

Females lay eggs in crevices of bark on dead trees and stumps, and after the larva hatches, they
burrow into the wood ( packing the tunnels with wood fibers as they go) just below the bark and
pupate there.  The are fully grown in 2-3 years with adults emerging in late July and Early August.
The larva of the Pine Sawyer are very destructive and destroy fallen trees, logs, and poles.

                     Locust Borer

Another example of the long-horned beetle family is the Locust Borer which measures 1/2 to 3/4
inch long, has a velvety black, elongated body with numerous golden yellow bars on the head, pro-
notum and elytra ( including a "W" in the middle of the body).  The antennae are dark brown and
are 2/3 the body length, with the female's being 1/2 as long.  The legs are reddish-brown.

These beetles live in woods which have an abundance of black locust trees, and can be found in
the eastern and southern United States and up into southern Canada.  Adults eat goldenrod pollen
and nectar with the larva subsisting on sapwood of the Black Locust tree.

The females cut deep pits into the bark of the locust tree and deposit eggs, one at a time, into the
pits.  The larvae bore inward and pupate under the bark.  There is one generation per year, with
the adults emerging in late summer.