Redheaded Ash Sawfly Courtesy Virginia State University Extension Service

Scientific Name: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Neoclytus acuminatus 

Plants Attacked
All dying or recently killed hardwoods, especially oak, ash, hickory, and hackberry. 

Description of Damage
Young larvae feed under the bark but later enter the heart and sap wood and completely destroy it. Plant parts attacked: trunk and main limbs. Damaging stages: larvae. 

Identification
Adults are elongate, cylindrical, and slender. They are reddish brown with yellow cross bands on the wing covers. The larvae are cylindrical and white in color and the body is moderately hairy. 

Life History
The adults emerge in June. They feed, mate, and lay eggs in the cracks and crevices of the bark. These eggs hatch and the young larvae bore into the bark and feed between the bark and sapwood 4-6 weeks. They then enter the sap and heart wood and completely destroy it. At maturity they construct a pupal cell near the surface of the wood and pupate in early spring. 

Control
Control procedures are not necessary since only dying or cut wood is attacked. 

Remarks
This is often a household nuisance pest since adults may emerge from fuel logs.

Courtesy Virginia State University Extension Service

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