Species Xylobiops basilaris - Red-shouldered Bostrichid

Xylobiops basilaris (Say, 1823) (Original genus: Apate)

Xylobiops basilare (spelling/gender)

basil is Greek for royal (1)

4-7 mm

Oblong and convex in shape, blackish to dark reddish-brown; elytra with large dull reddish spots at base, antennae, palpi, and tarsi dull yellowish. Elytra taper to oblique angle at posterior end, edges armed with three conspicuous teeth on each side (2) (forestpests.org).

Eastern half of the United States from Florida north to New York, west to Texas and Kansas and in southeastern Canada (forestpests.org)

Deciduous forests

Brimley lists March-October for North Carolina (3).

Bore in a variety of trees, favored hosts are Hickories (Carya species) and persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). Adults emerge during summer and fly in search of host trees, where they bore through the bark and into the sapwood. Adult tunnels are constructed across the grain just under the bark surface in sapwood. Tunnels may girdle limbs and trunks of small diameter. Eggs are deposited at intervals along the sides of tunnels. Larvae feed mostly in sapwood and to some extent in heartwood, tunneling parallel to the grain. They spend winter in galleries, mostly as mature larvae, but sometimes as pupae or adults. Adults often bore into healthy twigs for food and shelter and commonly spend the fall, winter, and spring in galleries within twigs and branches. A generation can develop in 1 year under optimum conditions, but longer periods are sometimes required (adopted from forestpests.org).