Bug FAQElm Borer
Saperda tridentata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae
The elm borer lives in Canada and the United States. It feeds on slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) and American elm (Ulmus americana). It can carry the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi, which causes Dutch elm disease.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found in Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Eats Ulmus rubra and Ulmus americana.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to Canada and the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What trees does the elm borer affect?
It feeds on slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) and American elm (Ulmus americana) and can spread Dutch elm disease.
Source: Wikipedia
Does the elm borer spread disease?
Yes, it carries the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi, the cause of Dutch elm disease.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cerambycidae)
House LonghornHylotrupes bajulusCan damage your home
Asian Longhorned BeetleAnoplophora glabripennisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red Milkweed BeetleTetraopes tetrophthalmus
White-spotted SawyerMonochamus scutellatusCan damage your home
Red Pine Longhorn BeetleStictoleptura rubra
Spotted Longhorn BeetleRutpela maculataDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saperda_tridentata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.