Longhorned Beetle

Longhorned beetles may be found infesting unseasoned (usually above 20% moisture content) pieces of soft- or hardwood. Unlike the old house borer, these species can live only in unseasoned wood, have a short life cycle, and do not reinfest the original piece of wood. The potential damage caused by these species is limited, and primarily cosmetic. "Pine sawyer" (see pictures below) is a term used for adults (and larvae) of longhorned beetles whose larvae bore beneath the bark of recently felled pine, spruce, and balsam fir trees.

There are several kinds of "sawyers" including, southern pine sawyer, white-spotted sawyer, northeastern sawyer, and the balsam fir sawyer. The adults appear in the spring and chew holes in the bark of recently felled trees and insert eggs. The young larvae bore beneath the bark for about two months; later they enter the wood to make a deep, U-shaped cell through the sapwood and heartwood. The larvae pupate in the spring and the adult emerges in about 30 days to mate and lay eggs. The life cycle is usually completed in two years.