Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle

Plectrura spinicauda · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle
Photo: Trevor Van Loon, CC BY

The thorn-tailed longhorn beetle belongs to the long-horn beetle family, Cerambycidae. It occurs in both the United States and Canada.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its native range includes the United States and Canada.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, Alaska, Oregon, California.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle photo 2
Photo: Trevor Van Loon, CC BY
Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle photo 3
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle photo 4
Photo: Claus Giloi, CC BY
Thorn-tailed Longhorn Beetle photo 5
Photo: Lee Cain, CC BY

Questions people ask

Where is the thorn-tailed longhorn beetle found?

It is found in the United States and Canada.

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/Plectrura_spinicauda

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

Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

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.