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Classification
The grey longhorned beetle is a coleopteran belonging to the Polyphaga suborder, which includes water, scarab, rove, and leaf beetles. It is a member of the superfamily Cerambycidae, also called the longhorn family, which possesses over 750 genera. It belongs to the Lamiinae subfamily, which are called the flat-faced longhorns. The grey longhorned beetle is part of the Pteropliini tribe of Lamiinae, and has been assigned to the Niphona genus. Furcata is the species name of this longhorn.
Distribution
The grey longhorned beetle was first classified by Henry Walter Bates, the famed naturalist, in 1873. Since this first European classification, the beetle has been identified as being native to a number of far eastern countries. It is found in China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
Hosts
Grey longhorned beetles are generally found in newly felled culms, which are the stems of bamboo plants. They preferably make their homes in either the Phyllostachys and Pleioblastus genuses of bamboo. Phyllostachys is a tall to very tall genus of bamboo with contains the largest species of temperate bamboo, and is native to the Himalayas and east Asia. Pleioblastus contains around 40 species of vigorous and low growing bamboo, which are mostly endemic to Japan. The felled bamboo shoots which are preferred by the beetle generally have a diameter measuring less than an inch.
Characteristics
Grey longhorned beetles are 13 mm to 18 mm long and 4 mm to 4.5 mm wide. Their color varies from dark brown to gray. The beetles breed once per year and survive the winter as adults in tunnels that they burrow. Adults emerge in spring and generally feed on young twigs and new leaves. Females lay eggs individually in culm cavities, with a general distribution of one egg per culm. Larvae hatch between May and October and gain sustenance by feeding on the culm's inner surface. Their continued feeding causes damage to the culm and makes it more susceptible to collapse by wind action.