Every year about this time we start hearing a buzzing or singing noise coming from trees and we start seeing beetles large enough to put a saddle on.  Both of these insects show up around July and after 3-4 weeks are never to be seen again until next summer.

Both the Cicada and Palo Verde Beetle are relatively harmless but create a great deal of interest and concern with most people.

Let's take a look at both insects and hopefully your interest will be peaked and any concerns will be put to rest.

Description

The Palo Verde root borer in the larval stage is grub like and up to five inches long. The adult beetle, a borer or long-horned beetle, is three to three and a half inches long with long antennae, short stout mandibles and a sharp spiny pronotum (the plate behind the head). The adult beetles are active in the summertime, flying mainly in the early evening hours, becoming a hazard to navigation for motorcyclists.

Damage

Palo Verde Beetle

The larvae consume the roots of trees, boring into the starchy middle area although sometimes cutting across and removing the entire root. The larvae hatch from eggs deposited in the soil under the tree by female beetles. Infested trees seem to have three sizes of larvae present most of the time, so a three-year life cycle is assumed. The palo verde part of the common name is a little unfortunate, because the larvae affect a variety of non-native trees at lower elevations. The name came from the almost universal presence of larvae on the roots of dead Mexican palo verde trees in Tucson. Look for branch dieback and for quarter size "exit" holes in the soil around the root zone.

Management

Currently there is little that can be done to control these beetles. They attack stressed trees, so the best prevention is to keep trees as healthy as possible. Turn off outside lights to avoid attracting the adults. Placing pesticides in the exit holes does little good as the beetle is already gone. A better strategy is to focus on improving the health of the tree to help it outgrow the damage by providing adequate water and fertilizer.

Desert Cicada

The species of cicada found in Arizona finish their life cycles in two or three years. There is one species found east of the Mississippi, however, called the 17-year cicada. The immature's of this species stay underground, feeding away on tree roots, for 17 years! Then, using some clue that is not yet well understood, all the adults come out at the same time to mate and lay eggs for the next generation.

Insecticides are not recommended for cicada control except in commercial plantings. Cicadas are active and fly long distances, so spraying of one or a few trees is just not worthwhile. Cicadas do have many natural enemies and diseases, however, which keep them under control. They are susceptible to a fungal disease that attacks the nymphs. Birds, predatory insects, and mites all feed on cicadas.

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