About Knulliana cincta (Drury, 1773)
Knulliana is a monotypic genus of longhorn beetles, meaning it contains only one recognized species: Knulliana cincta. This species is commonly known as the banded hickory borer. Banded hickory borers can be found across the eastern half of North America, including Mexico and the Bahamas. One of its subspecies ranges as far as the Sonoran Desert. Adults are typically found on hickory and oak trees, where they lay eggs either in bark crevices or directly into the wood. In their first growing season, larvae feed underneath the tree bark, and later tunnel deeper into the wood of their host. This feeding activity sometimes causes significant damage to the host trees. Adult banded hickory borers measure between 15 and 35 mm (0.6 to 1.4 inches) in length. They have prominent strong spines on their femora, pronotum, and the tips of their elytra. Three subspecies of Knulliana cincta have been formally described. Knulliana cincta cincta (Drury) is found in eastern North America. Knulliana cincta ochracea (Bates) is distributed across the southeastern United States, northeastern Mexico, and the Bahamas. Knulliana cincta sonorensis (Schaeffer) ranges from Texas to Arizona, and into adjacent regions of Mexico.
