Pest Profile

Photo credit: Dave Rintoul, bugguide.net

Licensed under a Creative Commons License

Common Name: Twig girdler

Scientific Name: cingulata

Order and Family: Coleoptera; Cerambycidae

Size and Appearance: Length (mm) Appearance Egg  Elongated-oval  White to cream in color 2-3mm  1 egg per pit or niche made in the bark of girdled twigs  Females cover pit or niche with a substance that tends to glisten

Larva/Nymph  White, legless grubs 16-25mm  Cylindrical in shape but tapered towards the rear  Distinctly segmented

Adult  Typical longhorned  Cylindrical body that is grayish brown in color 12-17mm  Has a broad, ashy-gray band across the middle of the wing covers  Antennae have 11 segments

Pupa (if applicable)  White to cream but become darker as the pupa nears adulthood ~12-17m  No covering cocoon  Antennae, legs, and wing covers are visible

Type of feeder (Chewing, sucking, etc.): Both larvae and adults have chewing mouthparts

Host plant/s: , , , linden, hackberry, apple, , persimmon, poplar, sour gum, honeylocust, dogwood, and some flowering fruit trees.

Description of Damage (larvae and adults): Larvae of twig girdlers spend most of their time feeding unseen in dead girdled twigs on the ground until they reach adulthood. After that time, they will emerge from the dead twigs and begin feeding on live twigs of the host tree.

Damage is usually minor, consisting of small twigs and branch breaking away or hanging loosely on the tree. However, in heavily infested trees, damage could result in tree death, stunted growth, deformation, or reduced fruit and nut yields the following year(s). Adult females will cut V-shaped pits or niches along girdled twigs to lay their egg in.

References: Baker, J., & Bambara, S. (2001). TWIG GIRDLER. Retrieved March 21, 2016, from https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/trees/note96/note96.html

Hyche, L. L. (1995, July). THE TWIG GIRDLER: A GUIDE TO RECOGNITION AND HABITS IN ALABAMA. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://enpp.auburn.edu/outreach/web-publications/twig- girdler/

Problem: Twig Girdler - Oncideres cingulata [PDF]. (2016, February 3). Manhattan, KS: Kansas State Unviversity - Research & Extension. Rintoul, D. (2013, October 3).

Rintoul, D. (2013, October 3). Twig girdler - Oncideres cingulata. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from http://bugguide.net/node/view/853002/bgimage