About the Ribbed Pine Borer
Rhagium inquisitor, the “ribbed pine borer”, is a species of longhorn beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as ‘‘Cerambyx inquisitor’’.The species is widely distributed in the Holarctic and is associated mainly with dead or recently felled coniferous wood.
‘‘Rhagium inquisitor’’ was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 under the name ‘‘Cerambyx inquisitor’’. It is now placed in the genus ‘’Rhagium’’, subfamily Lepturinae, and tribe Rhagiini. A number of historical names have been treated as synonyms or combinations of the species, including ‘‘Cerambyx inquisitor’’, ‘‘Cerambyx nubeculus’’, ‘‘Rhagium indagator’’, and ‘‘Leptura inquisitor’’. Some authors have also discussed geographically variable forms and subspecies within the species complex.
Adults are medium-sized longhorn beetles, usually about 9–22 mm long. The body is dark brown to blackish and is covered with mottled grey, yellowish, or brown pubescence that provides camouflage on bark and dead wood. The elytra are strongly sculptured and have prominent longitudinal ribs, a feature reflected in the common name “ribbed pine... Wikipedia →