Invasive-population-dynamics
Guides
Corthylus columbianus
Columbian timber beetle, chestnut timber worm
Corthylus columbianus is a scolytid beetle (Curculionidae) native to North America. It is a pest of living hardwood trees, particularly attacking the heartwood and phloem of species such as maple, oak, beech, hickory, and elm. The beetle has a complex life cycle with delayed adult emergence and exhibits dynamic population distribution patterns within forest stands, forming shifting epicenters of attack density. It is associated with ambrosia fungi that cause wood staining and degrade timber quality.