Scolytus rugulosus

The specific epithet "rugulosus" refers to the finely wrinkled surface texture of the elytra. As a member of the genus Scolytus, it can be distinguished from other bark beetles by its cylindrical body form and the characteristic gallery patterns it creates in host bark. Positive identification to species level requires examination of detailed morphological features not described in available sources.

Associated with the bark and cambium of living or damaged Rosaceae trees, particularly fruit trees. Larval galleries and pupal chambers occur in tunnels just beneath the bark surface.

Native to Europe; introduced to North America, South America, and North Asia. Documented from: Europe (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sicily, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia), Asia (Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey), Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia), North America (Canada, USA), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay).

Adults emerge in late spring (May in the northern hemisphere). Second-generation adults emerge in summer (mid-August in the northern hemisphere). Two or three generations may occur per year. Overwinters as mature larvae or pupae in tunnels under bark.

Feeds on various species of Rosaceae, with documented association with Prunus padus (bird cherry) and Prunus domestica (common European plum). Utilizes damaged branches and trunks of stone-fruit and pome-fruit trees.

• Prunus padus - hostbird cherry
• Prunus domestica - hostcommon European plum

Females bore into the cambium of susceptible trees and lay eggs in pockets along tunnel walls. Larvae develop in galleries beneath the bark. Overwinters as mature larvae or pupae in tunnels just under the bark. Adults emerge in late spring, with potential for two or three generations per year depending on conditions.

Females initiate gallery construction by boring into the cambium of host trees. The species is known to vector the nematode Bursaphelenchus eucarpus, which has been isolated from larval galleries and adults.

Primary cambium feeder that creates galleries in the bark of Rosaceae trees. Acts as a vector for the nematode Bursaphelenchus eucarpus. Population increases may occur on damaged or stressed host trees.

Recognized as a pest of stone-fruit and pome-fruit trees in orchards and cultivated settings. Common names (apple tree beetle, fruit tree bark beetle, shothole borer) reflect its economic association with cultivated fruit trees.

• Scolytus maliSimilar bark beetle species also associated with apple and other Rosaceae; both species vector Bursaphelenchus eucarpus and occur in similar habitats under bark of Prunus species.

• bark beetle
• pest
• fruit tree pest
• Rosaceae
• vector
• nematode
• introduced species

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Bembicid Holdings | Entomology Research Museum
• EU responsible for extinction domino effect on frog populations |
• Scolytus rugulosus . [Distribution map].
• Redescription of Bursaphelenchus eucarpus Rühm, 1956 (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) associated with the apple bark beetle, Scolytus mali Bechstein, and the shothole borer, S. rugulosus Müller