Poplar gall borer

Damage (gall) on a trembling aspen branch Thérèse Arcand

French common name: Saperde noire du peuplier
Scientific name: Saperda populnea moesta LeConte
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Cerambycidae

Distribution

Canada

Damage, symptoms and biology

The main damage caused by the poplar gall borer relates to larval activity in the small-diameter twigs and branches of poplars. The insect can be readily detected from the gall-like swelling that appears on the twig where the larva is excavating its gallery.

Branches that become weakened at these points can break during gusty, high winds. Adults feed on the foliage and tender bark of twigs and cut U-shaped slits in the host species' bark for egg-laying. Since the poplar gall borer only damages branches, the tree can survive without difficulty.

The insect's life cycle spans over more than a year.

Other information

Poplar gall borer damage has been reported mainly in Eastern North America.

When damage is found on ornamental trees, the insect can be stopped from spreading by pruning off affected branches before the adults emerge in the spring.