Mango-stem Borer

A species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae and with the scientific name Batocera rufomaculata. It is also commonly known as Black-raised-spot Longhorn and Tropical Fig Borer, as the fig tree, as well as the mango tree are the two most commonly hosts this beetle attacks, though it is known to feed on more than 50 host plants, including also the avocado tree, cashew nut tree, mulberry tree, durian tree and rubber tree. The grub of this beetle grows up to 9 cm long and 2 cm thick, and is by then creamy white in colour. Eggs are laid in the slits and cavities of the host tree and after the larval stage, pupation takes place within the stem. The life cycle takes one year to complete and adult beetles emerge in the rainy season. The grubs are an agricultural pest, as they tunnel and feed inside the branches and stems of trees, causing the host to dry out and sometimes die as a result. Adult beetles are 3.5 to 5 cm in length, stout and greyish brown in colour, with dark brown and black raised spots at the basal two-thirds of the elytra. There are also two reddish spots on the pronotum, as well as several yellowish-orangey spots scattered over the entire elytra. The scutellum, i.e. the small triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the base of the elytra, is white in colour. This beetle's main range is the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and it is widely distributed in Thailand, where it is known as both duang bah nahm jud noon dam (ด้วงบ่าหนามจุดนูนดำ), i.e. ‘elevated spiky black shoulder dots beetle’ and duang nuad yahw jo lamton ma-muang (ด้วงหนวดยาวเจาะลำต้นมะม่วง), i.e. ‘long-horned mango tree-stem boring beetle’. 回