Common NameSpruce engraver.SeasonalityAdults have been collected in Alberta from May to August.IdentificationAdults may be 2.4 to 3.3 mm long and are shiny black in colour. The frons is flattened and depressed in between the eyes (Bright 1976). The second sternite is not concaved and rises vertically to meet the elytra. In both males and females, there is a median spine arising in the center of the 2nd abdominal sternite (i.e. base of spine does not touch the anterior or posterior margin of 2nd sternite) (Bright 1976).
Scientific NameScolytus piceaeCommon Name
Spruce engraver.
Habitat
Adults will generally be found on host tree limbs. Larvae, on the other hand, will be found solely in the wood of trees. Host trees targeted are mostly spruce (Picea spp.), and to a lesser degree, firs (Abies spp.)…
Adults will generally be found on host tree limbs. Larvae, on the other hand, will be found solely in the wood of trees. Host trees targeted are mostly spruce (Picea spp.), and to a lesser degree, firs (Abies spp.) and larches (Larix spp.).
Seasonality
Adults have been collected in Alberta from May to August.
Identification
Adults may be 2.4 to 3.3 mm long and are shiny black in colour. The frons is flattened and depressed in between the eyes (Bright 1976). The second sternite is not concaved and rises vertically to meet the elytra. In…
Adults may be 2.4 to 3.3 mm long and are shiny black in colour. The frons is flattened and depressed in between the eyes (Bright 1976). The second sternite is not concaved and rises vertically to meet the elytra. In both males and females, there is a median spine arising in the center of the 2nd abdominal sternite (i.e. base of spine does not touch the anterior or posterior margin of 2nd sternite) (Bright 1976).
Life History
Females lay 10 to 30 eggs in each parental gallery and the hatched larvae will create feeding galleries that extend from the parental gallery. Upon completion of larval development within the wood of the host tree, S.…
Females lay 10 to 30 eggs in each parental gallery and the hatched larvae will create feeding galleries that extend from the parental gallery. Upon completion of larval development within the wood of the host tree, S. piceae will overwinter as pupae underneath the bark. Only one generation of this beetle species is produced each year in Canada (Bright 1976).
Conservation
N. A.
Diet Info
Adult beetles generally attack dead or dying branches of spruce trees (Picea sp.) but are also known to attack firs (Abies sp.) and to a lesser degree, larches (Larix sp.) (Bright 1976). Larvae will feed on woody…
Adult beetles generally attack dead or dying branches of spruce trees (Picea sp.) but are also known to attack firs (Abies sp.) and to a lesser degree, larches (Larix sp.) (Bright 1976). Larvae will feed on woody tissues in trees.
Range
This beetle may be found throughout Canada and may be found in the eastern and western parts of the USA (Bright 1976).
Notes
Based on the identification key by LaBonte et. al. (2003), S. piceae may be accidentally keyed out as S. schevyrewi. However, one easy way to differentiate the two is the even (shiny) black colouration of S. piceae…
Based on the identification key by LaBonte et. al. (2003), S. piceae may be accidentally keyed out as S. schevyrewi. However, one easy way to differentiate the two is the even (shiny) black colouration of S. piceae elytra compared to S. schevyrewi, which has a distinctive banded pattern on its elytra (see species page for S. schevyrewi).
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Citation
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Page Citation for Scolytus piceae
Page Citation
"Species Details - Scolytus piceae, University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum." University of Alberta Museums Search Site, https://search.museums.ualberta.ca/g/2-33855. Accessed 07 Dec. 2024.
References
AuthorLaBonte, J. R., Rabaglia, R. J. and Hoebeke, E. R.
TitleA Screening Aid for the Identification of the Banded Elm Bark Beetle, Scolytus schevyrewi Semenov.
Publication Date2003
AuthorBright, D. E.
TitleThe bark beetles of Canada and Alaska. Coleoptera: Scolytidae.
Publication Date1976
Specimen Information
There are 15 specimens of this Species.
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15 results plotted on map in 5 markers. Note: Only records with latitude and longitude coordinates are plotted on map.