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Latin Name: Dendroctonus valens
Common Name: Red turpentine beetle
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This species is a native insect in North America and now is also found as an invasive in China.
Biology:
There are 13 species in the genus Dendroctonus, with the Mountain pine beetle (D. ponderosae) by far the most destructive. The Red Turpentine Beetle is less destructive but is one of the most widespread bark beetles in North America and is known to feed on over 40 different species of conifers. However, it generally is found in only a few trees and most often those in weakened condition. The adult beetles usually bore into the trees in the bottom 6 feet of the tree. The holes may be filled with a mixture of sap and frass, as the beetles clear their galleries by pushing frass back out of the hole, often accumulating into what are called “pitch tubes” on the bark or the ground below. Adult beetles emerge from infested trees and
Latin Name: Xylobiops basilaris
Common Name: Red-shouldered shothole borer
Other Names: Red-shouldered bostrichid
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native insect in the eastern half of North America.
Biology:
Adult beetles are active during summer months when they bore into the bark of susceptible trees, such as hickory, persimmon, and many other deciduous hardwoods. The female then deposits eggs as she burrows in the sapwood, and the combination of this burrowing by the adults along with the feeding channels of the larvae may girdle the tree. Development requires 1 to 2 years from egg to adult insect and all stages may overwinter within the galleries.
Identification:
The adult beetle is 4-7 mm long with dark gray to black head, thorax, and elytra, but with a large orange to reddish patch of color at the top of each wing cover. Typical of Bostrichids the head is hidden from view from above as it projects downward from the
Latin Name: Macrodactylus subspinosus
Common Name: Rose chafer
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
These are native beetles in North America.
Biology:
This damaging beetle is found throughout the eastern half of Canada and the U.S., west to Colorado. The larvae live in the soil feeding on roots of many kinds of plants, but do little damage themselves. The last stage larva overwinters and pupates in early spring with adults following a few weeks later. The adult beetles live for over a month, feeding on a wide variety of fruit, flowers, and foliage. The may be present in huge numbers on a plant, sometimes over 100 adult beetles, and their combined feeding will skeletonize leaves, leading to loss of vigor to the plant. The beetles are known to contain toxic substances that make them poisonous to birds that eat them.
Identification:
Adult beetles are slightly less than ½ inch long and are dark tan to reddish brown in color,
Latin Name: Merhynchites bicolor
Common Name: Rose curculio
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
A native beetle in western North America, and found throughout the continent, but primarily in the northern states and southern Canada, and most common in the West.
Biology:
Both adult and larva feed on roses, the larvae emerging from the rose “hips” that develop after the petals drop and the adults and larvae feeding on the developing rose buds. The small holes they chew into the buds then are seen as rows of evenly spaced holes in the petals once the flower opens, seriously damaging the appearance of the flower. When flowers are unavailable the adult beetles will also feed on soft new shoots of the plant as well as on tender stems. Females create holes in the rose hips to deposit their eggs. There is a single generation each year.
Identification:
This is a fairly distinctive beetle. The adults
Latin Name: Chalcophora virginiensis
Common Name: Sculptured pine beetle
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
A native species in eastern North America.
Biology:
This large species of beetle represents just one example of the many species in the family Buprestidae. It is found widely across the eastern U.S. and southern Canada and south into Central America. It generally attacks only dead or dying pine trees, feeding as a larva for several years under the bark before pupating and emerging as the adult beetle.
Identification:
Adult beetles may be up to 1.25 inches in length and are a dark, shining gray color with mottled patches of lighter colors on top. They are flattened from top to bottom and elongate oval in shape, with the wings (elytra) forming a pointed tip at their posterior end. The large larvae are typical of flat headed borers, being flattened and with the thoracic area widely expanded and the remaining
Latin Name: Xyleborus sp.
Common Name: Shot hole borer
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Most species in North America are native insects, with several species introduced from Europe.
Biology:
This genus of tiny bark beetles includes about 17 species in North America, of which 5 species are introduced invaders from Europe. They attack many species of trees and woody shrubs, and with heavy infestations possible they are capable of killing the plants, including one species that is a serious pest of chestnut trees. The life cycle is similar to the ambrosia beetles in which the female creates a gallery in the wood under the bark and deposits her eggs there. She also introduces a fungus that she cultivates and which the larvae then feed on. Development from egg to adult beetle takes 2.5 to 3 months and there typically are 2 generations per year. When the adult beetles emerge from the infested tree they leave behind
Latin Name: Scolytus multistriatus
Common Name: Smaller European elm bark beetle
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
True to its name this beetle is native to Europe and northern Asia, but it now is found throughout North America wherever elm tree hosts occur.
Biology:
This beetle is another vector of the fungus that causes Dutch Elm Disease, carrying the fungus from an infected tree to a healthy one as the adult beetles exit the infected tree in which they developed. Adult beetles overwinter in cavities at the base of the trees, emerging in late April and May to fly to the branches of trees that already are in dying or weakened condition. The female burrows under the bark, bores a gallery in that area, and deposits eggs along both sides of this channel. The larvae then burrow outward from this egg channel to feed in the cambium of the tree. The fungus then moves through the vascular system of the tree, resulting in sudden
Latin Name: Otiorhynchus ovatus
Common Name: Strawberry root weevil
Other Names: Strawberry crown girdler
Pest Details
Origin:
It is native to Europe but now found throughout North America, and is a serious agricultural pest in the Pacific Northwest.
Biology:
This is another common species of the many kinds of “root” weevils in North America, and it feeds on many kinds of herbaceous plants but is a serious pest of strawberries. Larvae live in the soil feeding on the roots of plants while the adults feed on the leaves, stems, and berries. They overwinter as either an adult or a pupa in the soil, the adults emerging in late spring to early summer. Females deposit their eggs on the soil and the larvae burrow in to feed on the roots.
Identification:
The adult beetle is a shiny dark brown to black, about ¼ inch long, and has rows of distinct pits or punctures running lengthwise on its thorax and wing covers.
Latin Name: Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus
Common Name: Two-banded Japanese weevil
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Native to eastern Asia and the Orient, but introduced as early as 1914 in Pennsylvania, and it now occurs and is established along the east coast of the U.S.
Biology:
In the U.S. the beetles reproduce without males, which are not found in this country. They may overwinter in any stage, becoming active again in the spring and egg laying occurs from late spring through early fall. The female creates a small chamber by folding over a margin of a leaf and clamping it together, depositing a few eggs in the chamber. When the eggs hatch the larvae drop to the soil and feed on the roots, with densities as high as 150 larvae per square foot and from 3 to 9 inches deep in the soil. There will normally be 1 generation per year. They are known to feed on over 100 varieties of plants, with roses being a preferred host, but also
Latin Name: Agrilus bilineatus
Common Name: Two-lined chestnut borer
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native species in eastern North America.
Biology:
While this beetle was named for its previous status as a pest of chestnut trees, it now attacks primarily oaks, and will feed on many oak species in the eastern half of North America. Trees that are under stress from other factors, such as defoliation by caterpillars, are at particular risk. Adult beetles are active from spring to summer and females fly to upper branches to feed on foliage prior to moving back to major branches and trunks, where the female then deposits eggs in crevices in the bark. The larvae bore into the tree to feed in the cambium layers, potentially girdling the tree and cutting off nutrient and water flow.
Identification:
Trees infested with the beetle will show wilted leaves on outer branches early in the season. The leaves eventually