Banded Ash Borer

The yellow bands and circles on the wing coverings are also present on the abdomen making this beetle look like a wasp twice over.

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Image Credit: Alex -icycatelf- Bowen

Full-sized image #1 of the Banded Ash Borer

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TAXONOMY:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Cerambycidae

Genus: Neoclytus

Species: caprea

The black body of the Banded Ash Borer is decorated with yellow markings. By the head, a yellow collar rings around the top of the pronotum. On the wing coverings, two large, yellow rings sit at the top, which may be slightly open. A yellow zigzag line in the shape of the letter 'M' sits in the middle, and an upside down 'V' is near the bottom. The underside of the beetle has alternating black and yellow stripes. Put together, this coloring screams stinging bee, which may deter predators in nature.

Though this beetle's main host tree is the ash, it does not destroy the tree like other beetles. It only uses sick or dying trees to lay eggs and rear its young. This means that logs may contain larvae once they are harvested from forests. If used for furniture, adult beetles may emerge indoors to the confusion of the human living there. Banded Ash Borers do not stay inside if they can help it, so releasing adults outside is a good way of removing them from the home. If many of these beetles are seen outside, an arborist can help determine if trees are sick and need attention.©BeetleIdentification.org

The Banded Ash Borer is typically 0.3 inches to 0.6 inches (8mm to 17mm) in size and has the following descriptors / identifiers: black, yellow, wasp, stripes, ring, angle, long antennae.

It has a typical diet of the following: ash; hickory.

Color Identification Guide

Various colors commonly associated with this beetle.

Yellow

Black

Beetle Anatomy

Territorial Area Map (Visual Reference Guide)

The map below showcases (in blue) the states and territories of North America where the Banded Ash Borer may be found (but is not limited to). This sort of data can be useful in seeing concentrations of a particular species over the continent as well as revealing possible migratory patterns over a species' given lifespan. Some species are naturally confined by environment, weather, mating habits, food resources and the like while others see widespread expansion across most, or all, of North America.

Alaska

Hawaii

Prince Edward Is.

Canadian territory of British Columbia graphic

Canadian territory of New Brunswick graphic

Canadian territory of Newfoundland and Labrador graphic

Canadian territory of Saskatchewan graphic

Territory map graphic of the country of Mexico

Contiguous United States shape map layer graphic

Newfoundland and Labrador

Similar Beetles

Similar beetles to the Banded Ash Borer that are associated with or commonly mistaken for...

Ashy Gray Lady Beetle

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