Bark Beetles

Family Scolytidae

Appearance

Bark Beetle
  • Adults – 6 mm long. Mostly all black and have rust coloured wing covers.
  • Larvae – 6–7 mm long. Creamy white, cylindrical, head is pale tan / rusty colour.

Lifecycle

  • Males join the females and each pair construct an egg gallery under the bark, parallel to the grain.
  • The sapwood is inoculated with spores of a blue stain fungus as the egg gallery is built.
  • Larvae hatch, pupate and develop into adults under the bark.

Habits

  • They are common pests of conifers and some attack broadleaf trees.
  • Several hundred species are known.