A Naif in the Forest by Darrell Berger

Wing Tips to Hiking Boots: Musings of a New, Full-Time Poconos Resident  

Wow! That’s a cool bug. I wonder what kind? I think I’ll do a web search for “black insect with white spots.” There are endless possibilities. Wait, here’s a candidate. Let me click on the site. What does it say? 

Hum, I seem to have a Citrus Longhorn beetle here. Let’s find out more. Oh, my God! These are a very invasive and destructive species! Apparently an infestation can eat through a forest and leave a pile of chips. They are not listed as being found in Pennsylvania, but have been called “an unprecedented threat to the environment.” 

This presents some alternatives. I could conclude that this is a Citrus Longhorn and immediately contact the Forest Service and County Extension and warn of this invasion! The sooner they know of this profound threat, the better they can fight it. It would be my civic duty. 

Or, I could consider the possibility that I have not made the first Pennsylvania sighting of our insect overlords and do more research. I went deeper into the searches for Citrus Longhorn and found a  “discerning similar beetles from one another” site. Does your bug have a prominent white spot right below what one might call the middle of its neck? If so, you probably have a White Spotted Pine Sawyer. It is often mistaken for a Citrus Longhorn, but has this spot.  The Longhorn does not. 

The White Spotted Pine Sawyer enjoys white pine, so prevalent here, but only goes for dead or dying trees and is therefore considered a “minor pest.” It usually shows up after Memorial Day through July. This is their season. 

Now that I know the secret of the white spot, I will never again mistake a White Spotted Pine Sawyer for a Citrus Longhorn. Only a naïf in the forest would do that, not an experienced observer like myself, whose expertise in beetle identification now extends to two.  

It does show the importance of knowing the difference between a minor pest and an unprecedented threat.