I'll defer to your superior entomological credentials. However, are the giant root borer and the tile-horned prionus in the same species but different subspecies.

Thanks,

Mike Rudy
F/A-18 Green Hornet Team Lead
(W) 301-757-7638; (C) 301-997-4392
email: michael.rudy@navy.mil

Not sure which species your guide is referring to.

Audubon Field Guide to North American Insects refers to the Giant Root Borers as "(Prionus spp.)". My question is are they different species from the Tile-Horned Prionus or sub-species of the same overall species?

TX/MR

"Giant root borer" refers to any of the spp. in the genus Prionus. There is no one species called *the* giant root borer; rather, one can only say that this or that beetle, if it belongs to the genus Prionus, is *a* giant root borer. And then, within the genus, each species can have a common name that refers only to that species; for example, Prionus imbricornis is *the* tile-horned Prionus, P. laticollis is *the* broad-necked root borer, and so on. So, your beetle is *the* tile-horned Prionus (P. imbricornis), which also is *a* giant root borer. I hope this clears things up.

Thanks for the clarification.