Ivory-Marked Borer

How to identify it

• Adults are about 1/2 inch long, brown to golden brown, with four pairs of ivory spots on the wings, each pair ringed by a darker halo.^[1]
• It is the only longhorned beetle with four distinct pairs of pale spots on its forewings, and the thorax has a small spine on each side.^[1]

Where it lives

Found in the eastern United States, including North Carolina and Missouri.^[1][2]

US map: public records from 24 states since 1990 (GBIF). View the map

Biology and life cycle

Females lay eggs in cracks of dead trees; grubs bore into the heartwood and usually finish in about two years.^[1]

If infested wood is milled into flooring or furniture, the grubs can keep developing slowly; adults may appear five to seven years later, and one emerged from a 40-year-old bookcase.^[1][2]

Adults feed on leaves and twigs and come to lights at night.^[1]

Damage and signs

• It infests dead hardwoods such as hickory, locust, ash, oak, maple, cherry and elm, and apparently dead cypress, but not living trees.^[1][2]
• Beetles emerging from finished wood leave exit holes in flooring or furniture.^[1][2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.^[1][2]

Control

Prevention

Because it does not infest living trees, it is little threat in landscapes, and no chemical control is necessary.^[1]

Related profiles

• Elm Borer
• Old House Borer
• Powderpost Beetles

Common questions

Why did a beetle come out of my wood floor?

Ivory-marked borer grubs can survive milling and emerge from flooring or furniture years later.^[1][2]

Will it spread to my other furniture?

NC State notes it infests dead hardwood trees, not living trees, and says no chemical control is necessary.^[1]

Sources

1. NC State Extension, “Ivory-marked Borer (PDIC Factsheet).” content.ces.ncsu.edu/ivory-marked-borer (accessed 2026-10-16)
2. Missouri Department of Conservation, “Ivory-Marked Beetle (Field Guide).” mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/ivory-marked-beetle (accessed 2026-10-16)
3. iNaturalist, “Coeleburia quadrigeminata taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1674296 (accessed 2026-10-06)