5/8 inch - 1.6 cm long

Introduction:

Parelaphidion incertum (Newman) is a pest of mulberry, oak, and hickory. It favors red mulberry [(Morus rubra) L.] but is sometimes found in chestnut oak [Quercus prinus Engelm. (synonym Quercus montana Willd.)] and pignut hickory [Carya glabra Sweet. (syn. Carya porcina Nutt.)]. This Grand Junction infestation on Box-elder was a new state record for this species. According to Solomon (1995 - page 435) this insect has a two year life cycle in living and dying trees and a three year life cycle in dead trees.

The galleries and burrows of this insect are limited mostly to the outer bark, seldom reaching the cambium. Consequently, insecticide treatments are not necessary except for aesthetic reasons.

Range:

Eastern United States from New York south to Florida and west to North Dakota and Texas.

The Box-elder (Box elder):

Synonyms for the scientific name of the Box-elder are as follows:
Acer interior Britt.
A. negundo variety interior (Britt.) Sarg.
A. negundo subspecies (ssp.) interior (Britt.) Sarg.
A. negundo violaceum Jaeg. & Beissh.
A. negundo violaceum Kirch.
A. kingii Britt
A. nuttallii (Nieuwl.) Lyon
Negundo aceroides ssp. interius & ssp. violaceum - in Weber 1987
Negundo interius (Britt.) rkydb.
Negundo nuttallii (Nieuwli.) rydb.
Rulac negundo (L.) Hitch.

Most plant taxonomists consider two varieties or subspecies as present in Colorado :
interior (Britt.) Sarg. - the native western race has young branchlets covered with short hairs.
violaceum Jaeg. & Beissn. - the eastern race has smooth, pale, glaucous twigs.

Fernald (1950) lists another variety (A. negundo var. texanum Pax.) and Sargent 1965 adds var. arizonicum Sarg. and californicum Sarg. to the list of Box-elders found elsewhere in the United States.

Species identification of this longhorn beetle was provided by Dr. Boris Kondratieff, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, Colorado State University.

References Used:
Fernald, M.L. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany; eighth edition. American Book Company.
Harrington, H.D. 1954. Manual of the Plants of Colorado. For the identification of the ferns and flowering plants of the state. Sage Books, Denver, CO.
Sargent, C.S. 1965. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover Publications, Inc. New York, NY.
Solomon, J.D. 1995. Guide to Insect Borers in North American Broadleaf Trees and Shrubs. USDA Forest Service Agriculture Handbook AH-706.
Weber, W.A. 1976. Rocky Mountain Flora: A field guide for the identification of the ferns, conifers, and flowering plants of the Southern Rocky Mountains from Pikes Peak to the Rocky Mountain National Park and from the Plains to the Continental Divide. Colorado Associated University Press. Boulder, CO.
Weber, W.A. 1987. Colorado Flora: Western Slope. Colorado Associated Univeristy Press. Boulder, CO
Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich, L.C. Higgins. 1993. A Utah Flora. Second Edition, Revised. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.