Spot the difference: Asian longhorned beetle look-alikes

By Georgia Peterson, MSU Extension

There are two specific native beetles that are easily mistaken for Asian longhorned beetle. The cottonwood borer colonizes poplars and willows and also has a large, shiny black body with white bands or spots. However, there is a lot more white on the bodies of cottonwood borers than on ALB beetles. The antennae of the cottonwood borer also lack the white bands that are typical on ALB antennae. Larval feeding is also different. These native borers feed in the large roots and root collar of trees, and emerge as adults from those roots. There are no large round exit holes on tree trunks or branches.

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Photo: Kenneth R. Law, USDA. Look for the alternating black and white bands on the antennae of Asian longhorned beetles.