Insects and Spiders - non-native

A metallic wood-boring beetle (Agrilus cyanescens) on May 23, 2023

Originally reported as Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Submitter has sample

Description of specimen

Dark green metallic, very tiny. Quarter inch in length, short antennae. They look just like the pictures on the identification sheets, although it also looks a lot like the Willow limb Borer, and the Bronze Birch Borer. There are no willows or birches in my yard, or in the neighbor's backyard. Just the one ash tree with a dead top. I froze two specimens and have them in a jar.

Commentary

Thank you for your report!
That is not EAB, but yet another exotic invasive borer in the same genus, Agrilus. That is Agrilus cyanescens, a borer in twinberry. This one does not attack ash. Thanks for being on the lookout!

Tom Valente
May 23, 2023, 7:17 a.m.

Resources

The exotic Agrilus cyanescens is discovered in Oregon

Location

Three green beetles, which I suspect to be Emerald Ash Borer, were found on leaves of Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata) in my backyard. This location is about 15-20 feet from a neighbor's non-native Ash tree, and that Ash tree has a dead top. We have no ash trees in our yard (aside from a Mountain Ash, which I understand is not a host for EAB, and shows no sign of disease or infestation). I found them in the morning when it was cool, they were still and easy to put in a jar. I still have two captured beetles in a jar. Pictures attached. The information I received in the mail puts our house within a quarter mile of an identified, infested tree. The pin on map is very close to the exact spot.

Expert Reviewer

Tom Valente
Oregon Department of Agriculture

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