PEST PROFILES: BEETLES

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Adult Bark Beetle Bark Damage Click on image to view larger.

Bark beetles Description: Asian ambrosia beetles are about 1/16 inch long, stout bodied and reddish brown. They emerge from the tree via the parental entrance hole. The shothole borer, and peach tree bark beetle, has similar emergence patterns that leave the bark appearing as if it had been shot with a shot gun. These beetles attack a wide variety of weakened and dying fruit and ornamental trees. The galleries produced by these beetles are constructed just underneath the bark. Damage: This beetle attacks 126 plant species including pecan, peach, plum, cherry, persimmon, golden rain tree, sweet gum, Shumard oak, Chinese elm, sweet potato and magnolia. Life cycle: Females excavate galleries deep into the wood of twigs and branches, pushing out strings of boring dust which resemble tooth picks. Afterwards, the beetles cultivate an ambrosia fungus that has been carried into the gallery by the adult. Females oviposit eggs that hatch into legless larvae, which develop through several instars before pupating. Flight activity apparently occurs throughout the year, with higher activity in March.