About Phymatodes testaceus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Phymatodes testaceus, commonly known as the tanbark borer or the violet tanbark beetle, is a transpalearctic polymorphic beetle species. It belongs to the subfamily Cerambycinae of the longhorn beetle family. Adult imagoes of this species are typically 6 to 16 millimeters long. Their eggs measure 1 mm in length and 0.5 mm across. Mature larvae are 10–18 mm long and 2.1 mm wide. Pupae are 9 mm long, with an abdomen 2.8 mm wide. This beetle’s distribution ranges from the European Atlantic coastline to the Southern Ural Mountains, and from southern Sweden and Norway down to North Africa and Syria. It can also be found throughout Japan and North America. The larvae of P. testaceus develop inside and under the bark of a variety of deciduous tree species, and cause damage to these trees. Larvae pupate during the spring. The species has a one-year life cycle in central and southern regions, and a two-year life cycle in northern climates.
