Bitterroot Restoration

The flatheaded appletree borer(Chrysobothris femorata) is one of a complex of over 600 species. The flatheaded borers, or metallic wood boring beetles, as a group, are perhaps the most serious pests attacking a wide range of tree species. The larval stage of the flatheaded borers is the most damaging to trees as they feed in the cambium layer just under the bark of the trunk and scaffold branches.

The adult is a broad, oval, flattened beetle about 7 to 16 mm in length . The beetle is metalic colored and indistinctly marked with spots and irregular bands of dull gray. The underside is a coppery-bronze color and the sides beneath the wings are a metallic greenish blue. The egg is pale yellow, flattened, disklike, wrinkled, and about 1.5 mm in diameter. It is firmly attached to the bark by its flat surface. The larva is yellowish white, legless, and about 25 mm long when fully grown .

Control:

• Keep trees in vigorous growing condition. Adequate watering and fertilization are essential.
• Deep planting should be avoided. If large populations of adult beetles are observed on bark, spray the bark of trunk and limbs three times.
• Spray approximately the third week of May, the second week of june, and the first week of July.
• Most of the species of parasitic wasps attack this pest
• Woodpeckers also consume many larvae.