Long horn beetle (Cerambycidae)

Long horn beetle females make small holes in the bark of a living tree and lay their eggs. Tiny grubs, which hatch from eggs, start chewing the bark. But as the become larger, they bore tunnels in the central wood. A few of these grubs are capable of killing even large trees.

Long horn beetle

Grub of a Long horn beetle

Initial symptom of their attack on the tree is exudation of gummy substance and wood dust falling out. If tapped on such surface, one can hear hollow sound. At that stage, one can peel out hollow skin and pick the grubs. But once they enter the core wood by making a tunnel, it is rather difficult to kill them.

Arrow indicates wood dust

Mouth parts of the grub

The treatment: a- Remove the hollow bark and pickup the larvae. b- Apply liquid coal tar, mixed with pesticide powder on the cleaned surface. C- If the grubs have tunneled in the wood, then insert either naphthalene crystals in to the tunnel and seal it with wet mud. Alternately, cotton swab dipped in petrol or in Carbon tetra chloride could be inserted in the tunnels.

Tree killed by grubs of  Long horn beetle

Dead branch being cut off

Coal tar mixed with pesticide applied on the affected parts

Once in a mango orchard I caught a Long horn beetle and kept it in a plastic jar. It was a female beetle; because, next day I saw about 30 eggs in the jar.

Female with her eggs

Female with her eggs

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