Dutch-elm-disease

Guides

• Hylurgopinus rufipes

  Native Elm Bark Beetle

  The native elm bark beetle is a small scolytine weevil and principal vector of Dutch elm disease in the northern Great Plains and prairie provinces of Canada. Adults are brownish-red, measuring 2.3–2.9 mm, and complete one generation annually. Overwintered adults emerge in spring to colonize weakened or dying American elm, constructing egg galleries in the inner bark where larvae feed on cambium tissue. The species exhibits distinctive acoustic communication: males produce simple multipulse calls, stress/rivalry chirps, and bimodal premating stridulation at gallery sites, while females do not stridulate. Males become strongly arrested at attractive female galleries and engage in brief contests with rival males shortly after a resident male establishes presence.

  Scolytinaebark-beetleDutch-elm-diseasevectorstridulationacoustic-communicationforest-pestUlmuscambium-feedermonophagousone-generation-per-yearoverwinteringNorth-Americaprairie-provincesGreat-Plains

• Saperda tridentata

  elm borer

  Saperda tridentata, commonly known as the elm borer, is a longhorn beetle (Cerambycidae) native to North America. The species was described by Guillaume-Antoine Olivier in 1795. It is notable for its specialized association with elm species (Ulmus), serving as both a direct pest and a vector of Dutch elm disease. The beetle's life cycle involves larval tunneling in cambium and sapwood, creating characteristic U-shaped galleries. It also acts as a host for the parasitoid wasp Cenocoelius saperdae.

  Cerambycidaelonghorn-beetleelm-pestDutch-elm-diseasewood-borerNorth-America

• Scolytus

  bark beetles, elm bark beetles

  Scolytus is a genus of bark beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae, family Curculionidae. Multiple species within this genus are significant forest pests, particularly as vectors of Dutch elm disease. The genus includes both European and North American species with documented roles in tree mortality. Some species exhibit chemically-mediated aggregation behaviors involving pheromone communication.

  bark-beetleforest-pestDutch-elm-diseasevectorColeopteraScolytinaeinvasive-speciesphloem-feederaggregation-pheromoneCurculionidae

• Scolytus multistriatus

  European elm bark beetle, smaller European elm bark beetle

  Scolytus multistriatus is a small bark beetle in the subfamily Scolytinae that infests elm trees (Ulmus spp.). It is a known vector of Dutch elm disease caused by the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi, though it is less effective than the related Scolytus scolytus. The species uses chemical cues including vanillin and syringaldehyde to locate host trees during oviposition. It has been introduced to North America and other regions beyond its native European range, where it contributes to elm decline through disease transmission and direct tree damage.

  bark-beetleforest-pestvectorinvasive-speciesDutch-elm-diseaseScolytinae