Bug FAQEastern Twig Girdler
Oncideres cingulata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cerambycidae
Also called: twig girdler
Source: Wikipedia
The Eastern Twig Girdler is a brownish-gray longhorn beetle about 13 to 16 mm long with antennae up to 25 mm. Adults feed on tender woody shoots and females girdle small branches in late summer and fall, causing damage to pecan and other hardwood trees.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It is a brownish-gray beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about 13 to 16 mm in length. Their antennae can be 13 to 25 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
It causes significant damage to pecan orchards and other hardwood plantations. Infestations are problematic because the girdling occurs late in the season, close to nut harvest.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Collecting and burning dead, girdled twigs during winter helps reduce infestations.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on tender woody shoots.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The beetle has one generation per year. White, legless larvae overwinter inside a twig, eat through the wood to the girdled point, line the cavity with shredded fibers, and pupate in about 12 to 14 days.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults emerge and mate in the summer. In late summer and fall, females girdle small branches.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species occurs in the eastern United States and along the Gulf Coast.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 27 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I control Eastern Twig Girdlers?
Gather and burn the dead, girdled twigs in winter to break the life cycle.
Source: Wikipedia
When do these beetles damage trees?
Females girdle small branches in late summer and fall, which harms the trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cerambycidae)
House LonghornHylotrupes bajulusCan damage your home
Asian Longhorned BeetleAnoplophora glabripennisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Red Milkweed BeetleTetraopes tetrophthalmus
White-spotted SawyerMonochamus scutellatusCan damage your home
Red Pine Longhorn BeetleStictoleptura rubra
Spotted Longhorn BeetleRutpela maculataSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncideres_cingulata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.