[4] Cnestus mutilatus adult females are mainly black in color, and are large and robust compared to most ambrosia beetles, ranging from 3.4 to 3.9 mm in length, and about 1.7 times longer than wide.

[5] Their body shape is also distinctive compared to most ambrosia beetles, with an abdomen that is shorter than the head and thorax, and a sharp slope to the posterior end that gives them a severed or "squished" appearance.

[2] Cnestus mutilatus is native to Asia, where it is known from Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

[4] It has since spread throughout much of the eastern United States, from Florida north to Pennsylvania, and west to Illinois and Texas.

This "accidental" damage (which often results in the death of the beetle) is apparently due to the fact that standard gasoline fuel in the United States contains up to 10% ethanol, which is a primary attractant of C. mutilatus, as a chemical released by stressed host trees.