Green Metallic Tunneler vs Japanese Pine Sawyer
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Green Metallic Tunneler | Japanese Pine Sawyer |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Onitis alexis | Monochamus alternatus |
| Order | Coleoptera | Coleoptera |
| Family | Scarabaeidae | Cerambycidae |
| Size | 14-22 mm | 18-28 mm |
| Habitat | Farmland | Forests |
| Diet | Dung Feeders | Wood Feeders |
| Regions | Africa, introduced to Australia | East Asia, Japan/Korea |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Green Metallic Tunneler
A medium-sized tunneling dung beetle with a metallic green pronotum and dark brown elytra. Males have an enlarged prothorax. It constructs vertical tunnels beneath cattle dung and is nocturnal.
Did You Know?
Introduced to Australia in the 1980s, this species was specifically targeted for its ability to handle cattle dung in tropical climates.
Japanese Pine Sawyer
A large longhorn beetle known as 'matsu-no-madara-kamikiri,' responsible for transmitting pine wilt disease in Japan. The larvae develop in pine wood, and adults carry the devastating pine wood nematode.
Did You Know?
This beetle vectors the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), which has killed millions of pine trees across Japan since the disease was first described in 1905.