The Black Longicorn Beetle is an all-black that doesn't look much like a longhorn at all: its antennae are short and its jaws are big. It lives in conifer forests across Europe and northern Asia, including Japan, and isn't found in the wild in the U.S.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 0.4–1 in (10–26 mm) long, with females larger than males. The body is a stout black cylinder with short, bead-like antennae and large, forward-pointing jaws.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Pine forests
- Conifer forests
- Range
- Found across most of Europe and northern Asia, east through Siberia to Korea and Japan. Its native range doesn't include North America.
- Preferred conditions
- It strongly prefers pines, and only occasionally uses spruce, fir, or larch.
Behavior
- Activity
- Mostly active at dusk and at night, hiding under bark, logs, and wood scraps by day. On warm summer days it also flies in daylight.
- Overwintering
- It spends the winter as a larva, and development takes at least two years.
Life cycle
- Larva
- Young larvae feed under the bark, then bore deep into the wood. Full-grown larvae are white with a dark, hard head and reach about 1.4 in (35 mm).
- Caterpillar food plants
- Larvae feed mainly in dead pines, especially stumps and the bases and roots of dead standing trees.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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