Phymatodes testaceus is a transpalearctic polymorphic species of beetle in the subfamily Cerambycinae

Cerambycinae

Cerambycinae is a subfamily of the longhorn beetle family . The subfamily includes over 750 genera, rivaled in diversity within the family only by the subfamily...

 in the longhorn beetle

Longhorn beetle

The longhorn beetles are a cosmopolitan family of beetles, typically characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body...

 family.

The P. testaceus imago

Imago

In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...

 is typically 6-16 mm in length. Their egg

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

s are 1 mm long, and in athwart 0.5 mm. Larvae

Larvae

In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...

 of the species are 10-18 mm long and 2.1 mm wide. Pupa

Pupa

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

 are 9 mm long, and the abdomen is 2.8 mm wide.

Distribution of these beetle extends from the European Atlantic coastline to the Southern Ural Mountains, from southern Sweden and Norway to North Africa and Syria. It is also distributed throughout Japan and North America.

Larvae develop in and under the bark of various deciduous tree species, causing damage. Larvae pupate in the spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

. The beetle's life cycle

Biological life cycle

A life cycle is a period involving all different generations of a species succeeding each other through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction...

lasts one year in central and southern parts, and two years in northern climes.