Monochamus scutellatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Monochamus scutellatus, commonly known as the white-spotted sawyer or spruce sawyer or spruce bug or a hair-eater, is a common wood-boring beetle found throughout North America. It is a species native to North America. Adults are large-bodied and black, with very long antennae; in males, they can be up to twice the body length, but in females they are only slightly longer than body length. Both sexes have a white spot on the base of the wings, and may have white spots covering the wings. Both males and females also have a spine on the side of the prothorax. Most research done on M. scutellatus focuses on their relationship with burned forests and the logging industry, with interest also being shown in their mating behaviours.
Adults feed preferentially on members of the pine and spruce families for up to seven days after emerging between mid-June and mid-August. After mating, females chew small egg niches into dead or dying trees or logs, into which they deposit one egg each. Both sexes mate repeatedly with different partners, and females have been found to lay between 15 and 20 eggs on average per lifetime. Once the larvae hatch, they burrow into the phloem and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Denali National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 15 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 18 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 22 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-Spotted Sawyer sighting in Montreal on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 524th most-seen of the 926 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-Spotted Sawyer in Montreal on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-Spotted Sawyer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 cities where we can rate White-Spotted Sawyer sightings, Montreal ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Calgary (Canada, under 5%).
Same family: Cerambycidae
The closest relatives of the White-Spotted Sawyer that you can see in Montreal (family Cerambycidae, Longhorn Beetles) are Red Milkweed Beetle (about 10%), Locust Borer (about 10%) and Banded Longhorn Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-Spotted Sawyer is recorded against all the insects logged in Montreal (11 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
