A Longhorn Date Palm Beetle Encounter at the Zabeel Park, Dubai

A longhorn beetle resting on a pod

The longhorn staying motion-less on its legume pod hideout 

Details of its long antennae and dark brown sclerotized covering

Locate the longhorn beetle in the vegetation

It was a windy weekend morning and as I was strolling around the walk-way around the Zabeel Park,  Dubai, I stumbled upon a large, dark brown beetle clinging on the pod of the landscape plant. This was my first time to see a live longhorned or longicorn beetle in the UAE and upon my research about it, I get to know that what I encountered was the date palm pest, Longhorn Date Palm Beetle or Borer, Jebusaea hammerschmidti.  

LONGHORN DATE PALM BEETLE, Jebusaea hammerschmidti 

(COLEOPTERA: CERAMBYCIDAE)  

Beetles from the family CERAMBYCIDAE are characterized by their extremely long antennae which can be longer or have the same length as its body. 

The Longhorn Date Palm Beetle or Longhorn Date Palm Borer is a well-known member of the longhorn beetles family as it is listed as an important pest of date palms (Pheonix dactylifera). 

The adult beetles are dark brown color, with females 30-45mm long and the males 21-31mm.

The larvae are creamy white, legless, the first 2 thoracic segments of the body are broader than the rest, the body tapers up to its posterior end. 

DISTRIBUTION of the LONGHORN DATE PALM BORER

This longicorn is reported to be an important pest of date palms in the Middle East, North Africa and India. 

BIODYNAMIC NOTES

The eggs are laid on the fronds of the date palm, wherein they dig into green frond base for months and they they bore their way into the trunk. They spend their whole larval and pupal development stage inside the trunk. 

It prefers to infest old, neglected date palms but it can also attack young and healthy trees. 

The attack of the longhorn date palm borer greatly affects the date palm lifespan, its yield and the quality of the palm wood. 

For the control of these longhorn beetles in Date Palms follow label recommendations of approved and registered Agricultural Pesticides.

I have always keen a fascination for beetles, especially the longicorns. Their relatively large size, the thick sclerotized body armor and the long pair of antennae are truly awesome to observe and document. 

I hope to get more awesome beetle encounters.

I know these longhorn beetles are agricultural pest, but despite their potential threat to date palms,  they still look so awesome!

Awesome creature! Awesome CREATOR!

Thanks for your support and careful attention. 

If you need Pest Management Training, Technical Field Support, On-Line and On-Site Consultancy, please feel free to send me an email: odelon.reyes@gmail.com