Spotted Longhorn Beetle

Rutpela maculata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on the wood of many deciduous trees and can damage them.

Spotted Longhorn Beetle — Photo: Kostas Zontanos, CC BY

Adults are 13 to 20 mm long and look like yellowish wasps with black spots and stripes. They visit flowers for pollen and nectar, while the larvae live inside and eat wood of various trees. The beetle is common across most of Europe and nearby regions and is seen from May to August.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The head and pronotum are dark brown; the wing covers are yellowish with black dots and stripes that mimic wasps.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults grow to 13 to 20 mm (0.5 to 0.8 in) in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

Larvae bore into and feed on the wood of many trees, which can weaken or damage the trees.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Adults commonly visit flowers, especially Apiaceae, to feed on pollen and nectar. Larvae are wood-eaters that feed on many deciduous trees, especially hazel, beech, chestnut, and hop-hornbeam, as well as oak, hornbeam, willow, alder, poplar and birch.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The species needs two to three years to complete its life cycle, most of which is spent as a larva in wood. Adult beetles live only two to four weeks.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults can be seen from May through August.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is widespread in most of Europe, the eastern Palearctic, and the Near East, including countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Turkey.

Source: Wikipedia