Scolytus (genus)
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Author(s): Natasha Wright, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Source: IPM Images
Scolytus Geoffroy, 1762
This genus of bark beetles contains more than 100 species. It is native to the northern hemisphere, but some species have been introduced into South Africa and the Australian region. Various tree species are attacked. A common host is elm trees and several species are vectors of the destructive Dutch elm disease. E.g. Scolytus multistriatus, S. pygmaeus or S. scolytus.
The mature female constructs an egg gallery by boring through the bark and cambium. The gallery contains egg niches into which single eggs are deposited. The hatching larvae feed on the phloem and construct their own mines away from the egg gallery. The mature larvae move into the outer sapwood and pupate. Pupae and young adults overwinter in the wood and emerge the following spring. After emergence some species feed on twigs or leaf petioles before becoming sexually mature.
The adults are between 1½ and 5 mm long with a reddish-brown to black colour. The genus is characterized by the absence of a clear declivity (an abrupt slope) at the tip of the elytra which is found in many bark beetle genera. In Scolytus the abdomen is ascending instead towards the tip under the comparatively straight elytra. Other features of the genus include the unarmed protibia or the flattened antennal club.
Type species: Scolytus scolytus
Currently, the following species have been entered into the system:
