California Elderberry Borer

Desmocerus californicus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae

Also called: California elder borer

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
California Elderberry Borer
Photo: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), Public domain

The California elderberry borer lives only in the United States. Adult beetles feed on the pollen of elderberry (Sambucus) plants.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adult beetles sip pollen from Sambucus species.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The California elderberry borer is found only in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Nevada.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

California Elderberry Borer photo 2
Photo: Pacific Southwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CC BY
California Elderberry Borer photo 3
Photo: Garth Harwood, CC BY
California Elderberry Borer photo 4
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
California Elderberry Borer photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

What does the California elderberry borer eat?

Adults feed on the pollen of elderberry (Sambucus) plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Cerambycidae)

House LonghornHouse LonghornHylotrupes bajulusCan damage your homeAsian Longhorned BeetleAsian Longhorned BeetleAnoplophora glabripennisDamages trees, gardens or cropsRed Milkweed BeetleRed Milkweed BeetleTetraopes tetrophthalmusWhite-spotted SawyerWhite-spotted SawyerMonochamus scutellatusCan damage your homeRed Pine Longhorn BeetleRed Pine Longhorn BeetleStictoleptura rubraSpotted Longhorn BeetleSpotted Longhorn BeetleRutpela maculata

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmocerus_californicus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-28 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-28.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.