Hylurgops palliatus

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Subphylum	Hexapoda
Class	Insecta
Subclass	Pterygota
Infraclass	Neoptera
Order	Coleoptera
Suborder	Polyphaga
Infraorder	Cucujiformia
Superfamily	Curculionoidea
Family	Curculionidae
Subfamily	Scolytinae
Tribe	Hylastini
Genus	Hylurgops

Scientific Name

Hylurgops palliatus

Common Name

bark beetle

Occurrence

Europe, the northern Asia, recorded in North America.

Host plants

All coniferous species except yew.

Morphology

Beetles are robust and dull, 2.3-3.5 mm long. The head and ventral part of the body is black, while pronotum and elytrae are brownish-red. Pronotum is wide and short, getting much narrower in the apical part, densely punctured with smooth middle line. Elytrae are about 2.5 times longer than pronotum, with uniseriate rows of dots.

Biology

H. palliatus is a monogamous species with 2 generations per year. Adults are active first from April to May, and later in July-August. Maternal galleries are 4-6 cm long and 1.5 mm wide, usually one armed with hook like part on the top. Larval galleries are long and almost parallel to each other. Pupation occurs in the sapwood. Young adults have maturation feeding in galleries, thus in high density population primary pattern of galleries becomes unclear. Larvae or pupae overwinter in galleries, while adults in the litter or under the bark.

Damage

H. palliatus attacks fallen and standing trees, usually dead and those dying. It infests the lower part of stems with the thick bark. This species prefers shaded and moist conditions.

Preventive measures and control

Removal of weakened trees, windthrows etc.

Image Gallery

References

• Kolk A., Starzyk J. R., 1996: The Atlas of Forest Insect Pests

(Atlas skodliwych owadów lesnych) - Multico Warszawa, 705 pages. Original publication in Polish. English translation provided by Dr. Lidia Sukovata and others under agreement with The Polish Forest Research Institute.

• Cavey, J., Passoa, S. and Kucera D. 1994, Screening Aids for Exotic Bark Beetles in the Northeastern United States. NA-TP-11-94. Northeastern Area: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. http://www.barkbeetles.org/exotic/hplltus.html