The poplar borer is a cerambycid, a beetle that belongs to the same family as roundheaded wood borers and longhorned beetles.
The mature beetle is elongate, measuring 4/5-1 1/8 inches (2-3 cm) in length and colored bluish blue with fine brown markings.
Antennae are about the same length as the body of the beetle.
Larvae are yellowish-white, cylindrical, and are approximately 1 1/8-1 1/2 inches (3-3.8 cm) in length. The head of the larva is larger than the rest of the body.
Host plants:
Poplars (Populus) are the primary hosts of this borer. In the north, quaking aspen (Pinus tremuloides) is preferred, whereas cottonwood is preferred in the south. Another preferred host is the balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.). Willow (Salix) has been identified as a potential host.
Territory:
This species can be found anywhere poplars grow in Canada and the United States.
Damage caused by Poplar Borer:
Young poplars have more evident bark swelling induced by larval activity. The adults eat the sensitive bark of twigs as well as the leaves. The presence of the poplar borer is indicated by swollen bark regions, sap flow, and heaps of frass surrounding the entrance to galleries around the base of the trunk and the roots.
Life history and Habits:
It takes about 2-3 years for a life cycle to complete. Adults emerge in July and August, feeding on young shoots and aspen leaves. Female beetles lay one or two eggs in slits in the bark of aspens (typically the same trees from which they came). In around two weeks, the eggs will hatch. Young larvae feed on bark tissue and later mine the sapwood of the host. Larvae eject frass through expanded entry pores in the host’s trunk. Pupation takes place in pupal cells towards the bottom of larval tunnels. Overwintering as a pupa, the poplar borer emerges as an adult beetle the following summer.
