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Species Prionus laticollis - Broad-necked Root Borer

Headed for Disaster - Prionus laticollis Large black beetle protruding striped abdomen - Prionus laticollis Broad-necked Prionus - Prionus laticollis - male Prionus sp? - Prionus laticollis Root borer - Prionus laticollis - female Prionine - Prionus laticollis State line beetle - Prionus laticollis Very large beetle - Prionus laticollis - female
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 Prioninae
Tribe Prionini
Genus Prionus
No Taxon (subgenus Prionus)
Species laticollis (Broad-necked Root Borer)
Explanation of Names
Prionus laticollis (Drury, 1773)
Size
20-50 mm
Identification
Pronotum as broad, or almost as broad, as base of elytra. Very dark. Elytra have irregular punctures, and each elytron has three indistinct longitudinal ridges. Pronotum has three blunt lateral teeth on each side. Antennae have 12-13 segments. Female much larger than male. The former is reported to be flightless, or nearly so. Males are attracted to lights.

Compare Prionus pocularis, which is more brown, base of pronotum narrower, elytra more punctate, eyes closely spaced, female metasternum hairy.
Range
Eastern North America: Quebec, west to Ontario, Minnesota, Oklahoma. South to Florida formerly, but no recent records for that state.
Habitat
Deciduous forests.
Season
June-September (Northeast). June-August (North Carolina mountains). July, especially in North Carolina Piedmont.
Food
Adults eat foliage, sometimes damage fruit trees, grape vines.
Life Cycle
Eggs are inserted into ground (or under litter) in groups. Larvae tunnel downward to feed on living roots of a variety of trees and shrubs. At first they may feed on bark, but then proceed to hollow out small roots. Pupation occurs in spring, about 10 cm under the ground. Life cycle probably three years.

The larvae move from root to root through the soil, feeding on the surfaces of smaller roots. Mature larvae come within 3-5" of the soil surface in the spring; the form oval, compact cells for pupation.(1)
See Also
Prionus pocularis
Print References
Dillon, p. 577, plate LVII (2)
Yanega, p. 27, fig. 9a-b (3)
Arnett et al., p. 295, fig. 690 (4)
Papp, p. 203, fig. 684 (5)
Brimley, p. 210 (6)
Swan and Papp, p. 442, fig. 928 (7)
Beal, p. 71 (8)
Baker, p. 200--description (1)
Works Cited
1.Eastern Forest Insects
Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.
2.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.
3.Field Guide to Northeastern Longhorned Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)
Douglas Yanega. 1996. Illinois Natural History Survey.
4.How to Know the Beetles
Ross H. Arnett, N. M. Downie, H. E. Jaques. 1980. Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
5.Introduction to North American Beetles
Charles S. Papp. 1984. Entomography Pubns.
6.Insects of North Carolina
C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
7.The Common Insects of North America
Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp. 1972. Harper & Row.
8.Forest Insects of the Southeast
James A. Beal. 1952. Duke University School of Forestry (Bulletin no. 14).