Dectes sayi Dillon & Dillon, 1953

Chapman, Eric G., Richards, Austin B. & Dupuis, Julian R., 2023, The longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) of Kentucky with notes on larval hosts, adult nectar use, and semiochemical attraction, Zootaxa 5229 (1), pp. 1-89 : 35

Dectes sayi Dillon & Dillon, 1953 ; Acanthocinini

Distribution: Southern PQ to SC to MO and IA. Most Kentucky collections were from the eastern half of the state (Map 038).

Kentucky counties: Fayette (5), Jessamine (1), Johnson (1), Powell (1), Warren (2), Washington (1)

Years: 1889 (1), 1941 (1), 1947 (1), 1966 (2), 1968 (1), 1970 (1), 1972 (1), 1974 (1), 1980 (1), 1982 (1)

Months: June (7), July (1), August (3)

Collections (11 records, 11 specimens): UKIC (9), WKUC (2)

Collection methods: Malaise trap (1); Sweeping (1); Ambrosia (1)

Larval host plants: Ambrosia artemisiifolia , Desmodium elegans , Eupatorium purpureum , Glycine max , Helianthus spp. and Xanthium pennsylvanicum ( Monné & Nearns 2022d)

Comments: Referred to as the “soybean stem borer” on BugGuide (accessed 17 April 2022), none of the Kentucky specimens with collecting info were collected in soybean (but see Dectes texanus below). Unlike its congener below, Dectes sayi has no official common name in the Entomological Society of America’s common name database (accessed 17 April 2022). Its primary host is probably ragweed ( Ambrosia ); adults are probably best collected by beating/sweeping ragweed in July and August, as adults are seldom found away from its host ( Piper 1978).