Japanese Pine Sawyer vs Emerald Ash Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Japanese Pine Sawyer Emerald Ash Borer
Scientific Name Monochamus alternatus Agrilus planipennis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Cerambycidae Buprestidae
Size 18-28 mm 8-14 mm
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Wood Feeders Sap Feeders
Regions East Asia, Japan/Korea Asia, North America (invasive)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

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.

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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.

Emerald Ash Borer

One of the most destructive invasive insects in North America. Native to Asia, it has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees since its detection in Michigan in 2002.

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Did You Know?

The emerald ash borer has killed over 100 million ash trees in North America — the economic damage exceeds $10 billion and threatens to eliminate an entire tree genus.