Oberea tripunctata (beetle)
The Larvae are Segmented, with small black head, 1 1/2 – 2 in. long; cream to pink.
The Adults are 3/4-1 1/2 in. long; usually yellow with 3 black spots on thorax, their wing covers black along sides and down the middle.
Their Favorite host are dogwoods with occasionaly viburnum, Ulmus, malus, and prunus spp.
In the United States their found Eastern coastal, southern central and in the southwest, within the range of dogwood.
Poor sites, drought, nutritional deficiencies, wounding or root compaction all contribute to infestations.
The symptoms include Twig die-back, often severe; center of branch hollow from larval feeding and an occasional long series of round holes in bark with frass exuding; parts of twig cut off from within.
Adults emerge in early summer, feeding on twig tips; after girdling twig, adult deposits eggs inside; larvae feed down center of twig or branch, making long series of round holes for exuding frass; at intervals they cut off portions of the twig from within, then proceeds to feed downward in green wood; pupation between two wads of frass; the portion containing the cell sometimes is girdled; development usually is completed within one year.