small southern pine engraver
(Ips avulsus (Eichhoff, 1868))

Overview

Origin

Ips avulsus, small southern pine engraver is native to the Americas. Ips beetles usually attack weakened, dying, or recently felled trees and fresh logging debris.

Life Cycle

The small southern pine engraver Ips avulsus is the smallest of the Ips bark-beetles. Adults are 0.09-0.11 in. (2.3-2.8 mm) long, and have four small spines on each side of the sunken area on their rear ends. The wing covers of Ips avulsus are lighter brown than the thorax. It breeds in all species of pines. The life cycle of this beetle can be completed in as few as 25 days and there may be six generations each year. The eggs are about 0.03 in. (0.8 mm) long by 0.02 in. (0.46 mm) wide, and larvae have heads up to 0.03 in. (0.7 mm) wide. Pupae are waxy white and similar in size to adults.

Distribution

Ips avulsus, is the only species confined almost entirely to the Southern United States. It prefers the thin bark on cut tree limbs and tops, but can attack and kill groups of young, vigorous trees and the tops of large, living trees. Ips avulsus attacks on the tops of large trees and are often associated with attacks by other species of bark beetles on the lower portion of the tree.

Control Efforts

Beetle-caused damage can be reduced through one or more prevention or suppression techniques. Other control methods are burning, chipping, debarking, or burying infested portions of trees. Burning should be restricted to periods of low fire danger, and Federal and State laws should be observed. Land managers may consult their nearest county, State, or Federal forestry personnel for recommendations on management practices to be followed in a particular stand or area.

Resources

• Insects and Diseases of Trees in the South - USDA Forest Service
• Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet - USDA Forest Service
• Classical Biological Control of Pest Insects of Trees in the Southern U.S. - USDA Forest Service

Selected Images

Maps

Invasive Listing Sources

No reference that we have lists this species as invasive in North America. This species is included for comparison to other species that are considered invasive.

References