Timberman beetle

The timberman beetle (Acanthocinus aedilis) is a species of beetle belonging to the longhorn beetle family,[1] which is a woodboring beetle.

Timberman beetle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae
Subfamily: Lamiinae
Genus: Acanthocinus
Species:
A. aedilis
Binomial name
Acanthocinus aedilis
Synonyms
  • Acanthocinus validus Matsushita, 1936
  • Cerambyx aedilis Linnaeus, 1767

It is found in woodlands in with a large distribution through Europe, Russia and Central Asia. It is also known as the Siberian Timberman due to its range extending northwards in to Siberia.[2] In Finnish this species is known as Sarvijaakko, in Dutch as Dennenboktor and in Swedish as Större Timmerman.[3] For more vernacular names see the GBIF profile.[4] Despite a few sources suggesting reports in Central America, no confirmed reports were available at time of editing (May, 2020). The species is also not listed as invasive in North America.[5]

The body length ranges from 12-20mm, with antennae up for 3 times the body length in males, or 1.5 times the body length in females.[2] Their lifespan is up to 3 years which includes the 1–2 years spent in the larval stage.[6]

This species is capable of surviving freezing temperatures below -37 °C in both the adult and larval stages.[7] The adults are active from March to June, during which they are diurnal.[2] The adults overwinter in pupal chambers in leaf litter or under the bark.[8]

In Continental Europe, this species has become a serious pest of commercially-grown timber as the larvae feed under the bark, weakening the trees.[2] Through infesting weakened trees, excavating galleries under the bark, the trees then die.[8] Their development within wood debris in natural forests is beneficial for nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, but can also facilitate the transfer of pathogenic fungi within woodlands.[9] Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) are key food sources for this beetle species.[1]

A distribution map within the UK can be found courtesy of the National Biodiversity Network.[10][11] The species is reported to be Nationally Scarce category B within Great Britain by the Wildlife Trust BCN in 2018.

References
  1. https://eol.org/pages/118244
  2. https://www.ukbeetles.co.uk/acanthocinus-aedilis
  3. http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:faunaeur.org:taxname:114036
  4. https://www.gbif.org/species/10595482
  5. https://www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=10205
  6. https://www.uksafari.com/longhorn_timberman.htm
  7. Kristiansen E, Li NG, Averensky AI, Laugsand AE, Zachariassen KE. The Siberian timberman Acanthocinus aedilis: a freeze-tolerant beetle with low supercooling points. J Comp Physiol B. 2009;179(5):563‐568. doi:10.1007/s00360-009-0340-x
  8. https://wiki.bugwood.org/Archive:Atlas/Acanthocinus_aedilis
  9. Meshkova, Valentyna & I., Kochetova & Ye, Skrylnik & Zinchenko, O.. (2017). Seasonal development of the timberman beetle Acanthocinus aedilis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the North-Eastern Steppe of Ukraine. Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 25.
  10. https://www.coleoptera.org.uk/species/acanthocinus-aedilis
  11. https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000011056

Insect Natural History, A.D.Imms, Collins, 1973

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