Neaneflus fuchsii (Wickham)

Heffern, Daniel J., Vlasak, Josef & Alten, Ronald L., 2018, Larval Host Plant Records, Distributional Records, and Biological Information on North American Cerambycidae (Coleoptera), The Coleopterists Bulletin 72 (4), pp. 739-750 : 744

Neaneflus fuchsii (Wickham) . New larval host

record.

Larvae were found in living stems and roots of Prunus fasciculata (Torr.) A. Gray from CA: San Bernardino Co., Yucca Valley. Larvae girdled living stems of all sizes (0.5–5.0 cm in diameter) close to the ground (about 10 cm). In early spring, the girdled stems can often be recognized by the presence of dying leaves, and pulling on them may detach them at the girdle. From the girdle, the larva works down into the roots, creating a long tunnel that extends deep into the roots. The tunnel is kept empty, allowing the larva free long-range movement. The exit hole is chewed out just below the girdle, all the way through the bark, and it is plugged with fibrous frass ( Fig. 3 ). The plugged exit holes can be used to recognize stems containing the beetle from older girdled stems that were very common and present in virtually every shrub. In contrast, Swift (2008) reported rearing N. fuchsii from “dead branches” of Lycium cooperi A. Gray (Solanaceae) .

Figures

Fig. 3. Stems of desert almond girdled by Neaneflus fuchsii. A–C) Girdled stems showing the girdle and the emergence hole (arrow) below it, the hole is plugged with fibrous frass, D–E) Top view of the girdle, after removing the frass in the girdle in E, the place where the larva headed down is marked by a wad of fibrous frass.