Whitespotted Sawyer (Monochamus scutellatus) Adult

Photo: Angela Wheeler

The whitespotted sawyer (opens in new window) is a common native woodboring insect and an important pest of sawn logs. However, it is not a significant threat to forest health because it tends to attack weakened, dead and dying wood. Its primary host in the northeast is eastern white pine, but it will infest a wide range of coniferous hosts.

The whitespotted sawyer is often confused with the similar-looking Asian longhorned beetle, a very destructive exotic forest pest. Several characteristics help to distinguish the whitespotted sawyer from Asian longhorned beetle. One of the easiest to recognize is the white patch between the wing covers of the sawyer (red arrow). This area is black in Asian longhorned beetle and white in all whitespotted sawyers. In addition the whitespotted sawyer is a bronzy black, while the Asian longhorned beetle is true black and shiny.