The Broad-necked Root Borer (Prionus laticollis) is one of the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed’s largest insects. Its larvae feed on woody roots for more than two years before pupating and thereafter emerging as adult beetles. The distribution of root borers is not totally random. They are often attracted to distressed trees and shrubs. This particular specimen was found along a forest road where herbicide application, soil dehydration, and a recent wildfire has weakened and killed numerous oaks, poplars, and maples. As they feed, root borer larvae will help begin the process of reducing the remains of these trees into soil nutrients that will benefit regeneration of forest plants at this site.
