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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) » Flower Longhorn Beetles (Lepturinae) » Desmocerini » Elderberry Longhorn Beetles (Desmocerus) » Elderberry Borer (Desmocerus palliatus)

Species Desmocerus palliatus - Elderberry Borer

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Gold,Blue and Black beetle - Desmocerus palliatus Elderberry Borer - Desmocerus palliatus Find of the Night! - Desmocerus palliatus longhorn beetles - Desmocerus palliatus - male - female Desmocerus palliatus? - Desmocerus palliatus Eastern Elderberry Borer - Gorgeous Beetle - Desmocerus palliatus Desmocerus palliatus Elderberry Longhorn Beetle - Desmocerus palliatus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Chrysomeloidea (Longhorn and Leaf Beetles)
Family Cerambycidae (Longhorn Beetles)
Subfamily Lepturinae (Flower Longhorn Beetles)
Tribe Desmocerini
Genus Desmocerus (Elderberry Longhorn Beetles)
Species palliatus (Elderberry Borer)
Other Common Names
Elder Borer (1), Elderberry longhorn
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Desmocerus palliatus (Forster)
Orig. Comb: Cerambyx palliatus Forster 1771
Explanation of Names
palliatus (L). 'cloaked' (2)
Size
18-26 mm (3)
Identification
Large, dark blue and shining, base (front) of elytra yellow or reddish-yellow. Three ridges on each elytron. Antennal segments have enlarged tips.
Range
e US, Ont. (1)
Uncommon (4)
Habitat
swampy areas and edges of streams with host plant
Season
April-August (4)
Food
Larvae feed in living roots of black elderberry, Sambucus nigra. (4)
Adults feed on pollen, found on flowers, especially those of elderberry, (5).
Life Cycle
Eggs are laid on stems, near base of plant. Larvae burrow into stems and then tunnel down to feed on living roots (5) (3)

Larval period lasts 2-3 years.(6)
Remarks
Beetle was on a US stamp
is probably a model for
Print References
Dillon, p. 623, plate 62 (5)
Yanega, p. 28, fig. 221 (3)
Arnett et al. p. 302, fig. 707 (7)
Papp, p. 223, fig. 743 (8)
Brimley, p. 214, lists from mountains and upper Piedmont of North Carolina, April-August (9)
Internet References
Cerambycidae Catalog
Works Cited
1.Guide to insect borers in North American broadleaf trees and shrubs
Solomon, J.D. 1995. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook. 735 pp.
2.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
3.Field Guide to Northeastern Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Douglas Yanega. 1996. Illinois Natural History Survey.
4.Illustrated Key to the Longhorned Woodboring Beetles of the Eastern United States
Steven W. Lingafelter. 2008. Coleopterists Society.
5.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.
6.Eastern Forest Insects
Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.
7.How to Know the Beetles
Ross H. Arnett, N. M. Downie, H. E. Jaques. 1980. Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
8.Introduction to North American Beetles
Charles S. Papp. 1984. Entomography Pubns.
9.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 4 April, 2005 - 8:02am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Mike Quinn, Marci Hess
Last updated 27 July, 2023 - 3:47pm

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