Species Details

Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum Read more about this collection »

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 Name Scolytus piceae Common 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).
Scolytus piceae
Scolytus piceae

Citation

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

Specimen Information

There are 15 specimens of this Species.

15 results plotted on map in 5 markers.
Note: Only records with latitude and longitude coordinates are plotted on map.

UASM202012 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Quebec, Hudson

UASM202013 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1917-07-01

UASM202014 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedUnited States: Massachusetts, Suffolk county, Boston Date Collected1916-01-07

UASM202015 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1931-05-20

UASM202016 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1917-01-13

UASM202017 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1930-06-10

UASM202018 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Cypress Hills Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1925-07-01

UASM202019 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1931-07-16

UASM202020 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Waterton Lakes National Park, Waterton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1931-07-16

UASM202021 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1924-07-05

UASM202022 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1916-04-03

UASM202023 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1915-09-25

UASM202024 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1924-07-22

UASM202025 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1924-07-22

UASM202026 - Scolytus piceae

University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum

Place CollectedCanada: Alberta, Edmonton Collected ByCarr, F. S. Date Collected1916-07-30

Adult Seasonal Distribution