Ips typographus

European spruce bark beetle

Description

The adult has a cylindrical body of brownish black colour, 4.2–5.5 mm long. The elytra have a matte declivity at the end, with 4 spines on the edge. Adults overwinter in litter or under the bark. First, a male bores under bark. It is followed by 2–3 females boring a 6–12 cm long maternal gallery in the phloem parallel with the trunk axis. The hatched larvae mine their feeding tunnels at a right angle to the egg gallery. It has one, two, or three generations per year. Most at risk are spruce stands aged 60 plus, affected by wind and snowbreak damage or weakened by drought. The beetles damage spruce canopies also with their adult feeding, mining antler-shaped galleries in the phloem. It infests mainly lower and middle parts of stems. It is one of the most serious pests of Norway spruce in Europe.

Symptom

6–12 cm long maternal gallery in the phloem parallel with the trunk axis. Attacked trees are easy to recognize by brown dust coming out of the bark and concentrating at the basal parts of stems.

Tree Species: Spruce

Part of a plant- attacked: Tree trunk

Pest significance: Very harmful

Pest Category: Insects

Invasive Species: No

Present in EU: Yes