Monochamus sutor
(small white-marmorated longicorn)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Adult Caption Monochamus sutor (small white-marmorated longicorn); adult male. September, 2008. Austria. Copyright ©Siga/via wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0	Adult	Monochamus sutor (small white-marmorated longicorn); adult male. September, 2008. Austria.	©Siga/via wikipedia - CC BY-SA 3.0

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Monochamus sutor (Linnaeus)

Preferred Common Name

• small white-marmorated longicorn

Other Scientific Names

• Cerambyx sutor Linnaeus

International Common Names

• French: longicorne sur pin

Local Common Names

• Finland: suutari
• Germany: Bock(Kaefer), Schuster-; Schusterbock; Schwartzer Fichtenbock
• Norway: vanlig furubukk
• Sweden: tallbock

EPPO code

• MONCSU (Monochamus sutor)

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Metazoa
•         Phylum: Arthropoda
•             Subphylum: Uniramia
•                 Class: Insecta
•                     Order: Coleoptera
•                         Family: Cerambycidae
•                             Genus: Monochamus
•                                 Species: Monochamus sutor

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

This insect was first described in 1758 by Linnaeus as Cerambyx sutor and was later placed in the genus Monochamus.

Description

Detailed descriptions of the life stages of M. sutor are provided by Cherepanov (1990).

Eggs

The eggs are white, matte, becoming brownish with time, elongate, slightly curved, rounded at poles, overall length 3.8 mm, width 0.8 mm.

Larvae

The larvae are white, opaque legless grubs, averaging 35-40 mm in length when mature. The head capsule is amber in colour, with well developed, black chewing mouthparts. Overall, the body length of mature larvae is 40-50 mm; the width of the head is 4.1-4.7 mm.

Pupae

The pupae are moderately elongate, white, opaque and cylindrical. They are exarate, with antennae, legs and wings free from the body. The abdomen is elongate, gradually tapering to a posterior tip.

Adults

The overall body length of the adult is 15-26 mm. The body is moderately elongate with head not broader than the pronotum. Head and pronotum have a deep median longitudinal groove with deep uneven punctuation and dense or sparse grey or brownish hairs. The antennae are 2.5 times the length of the body on males and less than 1.5 times the length of the body for females. The eyes are deeply faceted, broadly emarginated, with the upper ocular lobes close to each other. The distance between the ocular lobes is less than the interspace between the antennal bases. The scutellum is whitish-yellow and the prothorax has a pair of projections. The elytra have several irregular, faint, bronze or gold coloured markings. Females are slightly larger than males.

Distribution

M. sutor is found throughout the conifer forests of Eurasia from the Atlantic Coast east to the Pacific (Cherepanov, 1990).

Official surveys have been carried out regularly in Denmark since 2000. None of the pre-surveillance records reported in Bílý and Mehl (1989) or Althoff and Danilevsky (1997), or later transient interceptions have led to the establishment of Monochamus species. It is therefore concluded that Monochamus species are not known to occur in Denmark (Danish Plant Directorate, 2010).

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Risk of Introduction

Adult Monochamus beetles are strong fliers. However, the normal flying distance for Monochamus adults in forests is fairly short. In the case of Monochamus alternatus, an important vector of pinewood nematode in China and Japan, most adults fly less than 200 m, although some individuals have been known to fly up to 3.3 km (Kobayashi et al., 1984; USDA APHIS, 1999).

All life stages of M. sutor can be transported over long distances via international trade in unprocessed logs. The larvae and pupae can survive in lumber cut from infested logs and can develop into adults. Lumber, wooden crating, pallets and dunnage used in international trade are therefore potential sources of introduction of M. sutor and other species of Monochamus. According to data available from APHIS, insects identified as Monochamus spp. were intercepted over 250 times at ports of entry in the USA between 1985 and 1998. A single adult M. sutor was intercepted from wooden crating arriving at the airport in Curitiba, Brazil, from Italy (ET Iede, EMBRAPA, Parana, Brazil, personal communication, 2001). In 1998, more than 100,000 m³ of larch was imported from Russia to Austria. This material contained several species of longhorned beetles including M. sutor (Krehan and Holzschuh, 1999).

M. sutor is a known vector of a Eurasian pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus mucronatus (Tomminen et al., 1989; Schroeder and Magnusson, 1992). Infection occurs during adult maturation feeding and oviposition when the nematode larvae emerge from the spiracles of beetles, drop onto the twigs and penetrate the woody tissue through the feeding wounds (Speight and Wainhouse, 1989). Damage caused by this nematode in the forests of Europe and Asia is minimal and similar to that caused by the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) in North America. However, when B. xylophilus was introduced into Asia, it became a devastating pathogen (Kulinich and Orlinski, 1998). B. mucronatus must therefore be regarded as having the potential to become a devastating pathogen of North American conifers. Three other nematodes, Parasitorhabditis welchi, Bursaphelenchus sutoricus and Cryptaphelenchus sutoricus, are reported to be associated with M. sutor in the Republic of Georgia (Devdariani, 1974).

Habitat

Within its native distribution, M. sutor generally confines its attacks to stressed or recently killed trees and freshly cut logs or windthrow. In Siberia, mass breeding occurs in forests damaged by wildfire or defoliated by the Siberian silkworm, Dendrolimus sibiricus, and in recently felled trees (Cherepanov, 1990).

Habitat List

Hosts/Species Affected

M. sutor attacks species of fir (Abies), spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus) and larch (Larix) across its geographic range. In Europe, Abies alba, Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris are attacked (Hellrigl, 1971; Bakke and Kvamme, 1992; Schroeder et al., 1999). In China, reported hosts are Larix gmelinii, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica and Betula platyphylla (Zhang et al.,1993; Li et al., 1988). In Siberia and the Russian Far East, M. sutor is reported from Abies holophylla, A. nephrolepis, A. sibirica, Larix gmelinii, L. sibirica, Picea koraiensis, P. jezoensis, P. obovata, Pinus sylvestris and P. sibirica (USDA Forest Service, 1991).

Host Plants and Other Plants Affected

Growth Stages

Symptoms

Symptoms associated with infestations of M. sutor are not specific and are more or less typical of all species of Monochamus.

Infested trees contain narrow slits in the bark indicative of oviposition sites, boring tunnels in the cambium and wood filled with frass, which superficially resemble straw or coarse wood shavings, and adult exit holes that are round to slightly oval in shape.

Adult maturation feeding consists of the removal of bark from the shoots of host trees. The shoots eventually die leaving dead tips with reddish-brown foliage on the trees. The shoots may eventually break, giving the trees a pruned appearance.

List of Symptoms/Signs

Biology and Ecology

Life History and Habits

The genus Monochamus is comprised of 150 known species distributed across Asia, Africa, Europe and North America (USDA APHIS, 1999). Twenty-four species of Monochamus have been recorded from China and about 10 species are native to North America (Furniss and Carolin, 1977; Drooz, 1985; USDA APHIS, 1999). All species indigenous to the temperate regions attack various species of Pinaceae and confine their attacks to trees that are stressed or recently killed by bark beetles, lightning, disease or climatic and site-related factors. Some species can be damaging to windthrow or recently felled pulpwood or sawlogs. Several African species of Monochamus are pests of tropical broadleaf trees and some (e.g. M. scabiosus) have a tendency to attack healthy trees (Browne, 1968).

In Siberia, M. sutor has a 2-year life cycle. Adult flight occurs between June and mid-September. After the adults emerge from host trees, they feed on the bark and phloem of twigs in the crowns of conifers. The damaged shoots often break off, giving the trees a pruned appearance. Adults are attracted to weakened, dying or recently dead trees or logs to mate and lay eggs (Cherepanov, 1990).

Females deposit about 50 eggs, in groups of 1-6 eggs, in niches cut into the bark of host trees (USDA Forest Service, 1991). In northern China, trees are suitable for attack from the trunk base to within 3.3-4.6 m from the top for trees 13-23 m in height (Zhang et al., 1993). During the first year, the larvae feed under the bark. They later bore into the wood, constructing oval galleries, where they overwinter as second-instar larvae. During the second year, the larvae continue to feed and bore deeper into the wood. The larvae have five instars. Mature larvae form pupal cells near the bark surface, where they spend the second winter as pupae. Adult emergence occurs in the following spring (USDA Forest Service, 1991).

Notes on Natural Enemies

Little is known about the natural enemy complex of M. sutor. The larvae can be cannibalistic (Victorsson and Wikars, 1996). A large wasp, Rhyssa persuasoria, reportedly parasitizes the larvae (BBC, 2004).

Pathway Vectors

Plant Trade

Wood Packaging

Impact Summary

Economic Impact

M. sutor is a member of an important wood-boring group of Cerambycidae. These insects damage the wood of weakened, recently dead and downed conifers, causing degradation and loss of structural integrity of lumber. In some areas they often attack conifers killed by bark beetles, fire or weakened by defoliating insects. Moreover, if logs are stored in the forest or at the sawmill for prolonged periods before processing, they are subject to attack by species of Monochamus.

This longhorned beetle is a commonly occurring insect across much of its natural range. Attack densities can be extremely heavy in down material, with up to 100 eggs deposited per metre of log surface (Bistimmungensüben an Insekten, 2002). In northern China, M. sutor is one of the most prevalent stem-infesting insects in burned over areas (Zhang et al., 1993). In the Baikal region of Asian Russia, M. sutor is an important pest of harvested logs. In one study, between 10 and 80% of the larch in a timber yard was found to be infested by M. sutor. Another report indicates that this insect destroyed a large volume of timber during the construction of the Bratsk Reservior (USDA Forest Service, 1991).

Environmental Impact

In its native habitat, and in the absence of a pathogenic species of pinewood nematode, the environmental impact of M. sutor, by itself, is probably beneficial. It is part of a complex of insects that play a role in the decomposition of dead conifer wood.

Detection and Inspection

Look for larval galleries, granular frass and various life stages of the insect in unprocessed logs, lumber, wooden crating, pallets and dunnage. The presence of round or slightly oval exit holes in logs or wood in use is an indication that adults of the genus Monochamus may have emerged from this material.

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

Adults tend to be similar in appearance to other palaearctic species of Monochamus. Examination of adults by a taxonomist with expertise in the family Cerambycidae is necessary for sound species identification, especially if specimens are found outside of its known geographic range.

Prevention and Control

Cultural Control

Recommended cultural measures for the management of various species of Monochamus emphasize the prevention of attacks. These measures include avoiding storage of recently felled sawtimber and pulpwood in forested areas during the adult flight period, which is usually from May to September; prompt salvage and utilization of windthrow and/or trees killed by bark beetles, lightning or disease and storage of logs under a water spray at sawmill sites (Furniss and Carolin, 1977; Drooz, 1985).

Chemical Control

No chemical control methods are available for M. sutor.

Mechanical Control

Heat treatment at 60 or 70°C for 1 hour kills all stages of Monochamus urussovii. This could be accomplished in a kiln or with steam or hot-water treatment (USDA APHIS, 1991). This treatment should be effective for all species of Monochamus and could be applied to wood products destined for export.

Pheromonal Control

Some species of Monochamus are attracted to host volatiles and are known to come to traps baited with alpha pinene.

Field Monitoring

Some field monitoring of Monochamus species has been done using traps baited with host attractants. In China, traps baited with alpha pinene have been used to determine whether local populations of Monochamus alternatus are infected with pinewood nematode.

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management of longhorned beetles of the genus Monochamus emphasizes the prevention of attacks (see Cultural Control). In Mexico, avoiding the planting of pine on poor growing sites is recommended to prevent attacks by Monochamus clamator rubigineus (Cibrián Tovar et al., 1995).

References

Althoff J, Danilevsky ML, 1997. A check-list of Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) of Europe. Slovensko entomolosko drustvo Stefana Micihielija, Ljubljana, 64pp.

Bakke A, Kvamme T, 1992. The pine sawyer (Monochamus sutor): distribution and life history [on Picea abies and Pinus sylvestris] in south Norway. Meddelelser fra Skogforsk, 44(13):16 pp.; 15 ref.

BBC, 2004. Giant ichneumon fly/wasp, sabre wasp, Rhyssa persuasoria. Science and Nature: Animals. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/3033.shtml.

Bíly S, Mehl O, 1989. Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Lieden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill/Scandinavian Science Press Ltd. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Vol. 22.

Bistimmungensüben an Insekten, 2002. Monochamus sutor F., Schusterbock, Schwartzer Fichtenbock [Coleoptera: Cerambycidae]. http://www.faunistik.net/detinvert/coloeptera/cerambycidae/monochamus_sutor [In German].

Browne FG, 1968. Pests and diseases of forest plantation trees: an annotated list of the principal species occurring in the British Commonwealth. Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

CABI/EPPO, 2009. Monochamus sutor. [Distribution map]. Distribution Maps of Plant Pests, No.December. Wallingford, UK: CABI, Map 726.

Cherepanov AI, 1990. Cerambycidae of northern Asia. Volume 3, Lamiinae, Part I. New Delhi, India: Amerind Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd. [English translation of Russian original.]

Cibrián Tovar D, Tulio Mendez Montiel J, Campos Bolanos R, Yates HO, Flores Lara J, 1985. Insectos forestales de Mexico/Forest Insects of Mexico. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, North American Forestry Commission. [In English and Spanish].

Devdariani TsG, 1974. New nematode species from Monochamus sutor. Soobschcheniya Akademii Nauk Gruzinskoi SSR, 76(3):709-712

Dominik J, 1986. Observations on the choice of breeding substrate by several xylophagous insects. Sylwan, 130(12):25-28.

Drooz AT, 1985. Insects of eastern forests. USDA Forest Service, Miscellaneous Publication 1339.

EPPO, 2014. PQR database. Paris, France: European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. http://www.eppo.int/DATABASES/pqr/pqr.htm

Farashiani E, Yarmand H, Tavakoli M, Sedghian B, Al-Mansoor H, Ahmadi SMM, 2006. An introducing to important xylophagous pests (long horn beetles) of Iran. Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Science Research, 20(2):207-236, 305.

Furniss RL, Carolin VM, 1977. Western forest insects. USDA Miscellaneous Publication, No. 1339. Washington DC., USA; US Department of Agriculture.

Hellrigl KG, 1971. The bionomics of the European species of Monochamus (Coleopt. Cerambycid.) and their importance in forest and timber management. [Die Bionomie der europaischen Monochamus-Arten (Coleopt., Cerambycid.) und ihre Bedeutung fur die Forst- und Holzwirtschaft.] Redia, 52: 367-509; 67 fig.; 5 pp. ref.

IPPC, 2011. Absence of Monochamus spp. in Denmark (continued freedom). IPPC Official Pest Report, No. DNK-03/1, No. DNK-03/1. Rome, Italy: FAO. https://www.ippc.int/

Khomentovskii PA, 1981. Xylophagous insects in an isolated habitat of the Kurile larch in Kamchatka. Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 60(6):937-940

Kobayashi F, Yamane A, Ikeda T, 1984. The Japanese pine sawyer beetle as the vector of pine wilt disease. Annual Review of Entomology, 29:115-135

Krehan H, Holzschuh C, 1999. New pests on Larix imported from Siberian forests. Forstschutz Aktuell, No. 23/24:9-12.

Kulinich OA, Orlinskii PD, 1998. Distribution of conifer beetles (Scolytidae, Curculionidae, Cerambycidae) and wood nematodes (Bursaphelenchus spp.) in European and Asian Russia. Bulletin OEPP, 28(1/2):39-52; 42 ref.

Li J, Lu WD, Shao JW, Gao EZ, Cheng WL, Lin GQ, 1988. Study on insect pests and their prevention in fire-damaged logs in Tahe forest district. Journal of Northeast Forestry University, 16(6):26-33

Mamaev BM, Krivosheina NP, Khomentovskii PA, 1989. Coleoptera of the stem complex in the forests of central Kamchatka. Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii^breve~, Lesnoi^breve~ Zhurnal, No. 4:22-25; 14 ref.

Schroeder LM, Magnusson C, 1992. Transmission of Bursaphelenchus mucronatus (Nematoda) to branches and bolts of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies by the cerambycid beetle Monochamus sutor. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 7(1):107-112

Schroeder LM, Weslien J, Lindelöw A, Lindhe A, 1999. Attacks by bark- and wood-boring Coleoptera on mechanically created high stumps of Norway spruce in the two years following cutting. Forest Ecology and Management, 123(1):21-30; 29 ref.

Speight MR, Wainhouse D, 1989. Ecology and management of forest insects. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, x + 374 pp.

Telnor D, Barsevskis A, Savich F, Kovalevsky F, Berdnikov S, Doronin M, Cibulskis R, Ratniece D, 1997. An updated list of Lativian beetles (Coleoptera). Cerambycidae. Frankfurt: Mitteilungen des Internationalen Entomologischen Vereins, Supplement 5:1-140.

Tomminen J, LeppSnen P, 1991. The male genitalia of Monochamus sutor (L.), M. galloprovincialis (Olivier) and M. urussovi (Fischer von Waldheim) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Entomologica Fennica, 2(2):49-51; 12 ref.

Tomminen J, Nuorteva M, Pulkkinen M, Vakeva J, 1989. Occurrence of the nematode Bursaphelenchus mucronatus Mamiya & Enda 1979 (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) in Finland. Silva Fennica, 23(4):271-277

Tschernyschev SE, Dubatov V, 2002. Cerambycidae collection of the Siberian Zoological Museum, Novosibirsk, Russia. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/4397/szmn/index.html.

USDA APHIS, 1991. An efficacy review of control measures for potential pests of imported Soviet timber. Miscellaneous Publication 1496, 28pp.

USDA APHIS, 1999. Report on risk analysis of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in the wooden package imported from the United States of America and Japan. Plant Inspection and Quarantine Experimental Institution. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/alb/swpm/china/pra.html.

USDA Forest Service, 1991. Pest risk assessment of the importation of larch from Siberia and the Soviet Far East. Miscellaneous Publication 1495.

Victorsson J, Wikars LO, 1996. Sound production and cannibalism in larvae of the pine-sawyer beetle Monochamus sutor L. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Entomologisk Tidskrift, 117(1/2):29-33; 13 ref.

Zhang JianJun, Zhang RunZhi, Chen JingYuan, 2007. Species and their dispersal ability of Monochamus as vectors to transmit Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Journal of Zhejiang Forestry College, 24(3):350-356. http://zjlx.chinajournal.net.cn

Zhang QH, Byers JA, Zhang XD, 1993. Influence of bark thickness, trunk diameter and height on reproduction of the longhorned beetle, Monochamus sutor (Col., Cerambycidae) in burned larch and pine. Journal of Applied Entomology, 115(2):145-154

Distribution Maps