Lemon tree borer

Oemona hirta · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. It damages citrus and many other fruit and timber trees.

Lemon tree borer — Photo: Robert Briggs, CC BY-SA

The larvae bore into the wood of a wide range of native and introduced trees, causing serious damage to citrus orchards and many other fruit and timber species.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

When citrus orchards were first planted in New Zealand, this beetle caused serious damage and earned the name “lemon tree borer”. Adults can be moved unintentionally with nursery stock or other plant material.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Larvae are generalist wood-borers that feed inside the trunks and branches of many tree species.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae attack a wide variety of trees, including citrus, apple, cherry, plum, almond, walnut, chestnut, macadamia and many ornamental species.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Females lay single white eggs about 2 mm long in leaf or stem junctions, pruning cuts, bark scars or dead twigs. The larvae are creamy-white with orange-brown gut contents and grow to 25 to 40 mm before pupating.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The lemon tree borer is endemic to New Zealand and has not become established overseas.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Questions people ask

Which plants are damaged by the lemon tree borer?

Its larvae bore into the wood of many trees, especially citrus, apple, cherry, plum, almond, walnut, chestnut, macadamia and other ornamental species.

Source: Wikipedia

How does the lemon tree borer reproduce?

Females lay single white eggs about 2 mm long in leaf or stem junctions, pruning cuts, bark scars or dead twigs, and the larvae develop inside the wood.

Source: Wikipedia