Ips cembrae explained

Ips cembrae, known generally as larch bark beetle or eight-toothed larch bark beetle, is a species of typical bark beetle in the family Curculionidae. Its habitat is Euro-Siberian, ranging from sea level to sub-alpine.^[1] It was first recorded in Great Britain in 1955.^[2] Populations were said to be found in Japan and China, but further research determined that those were actually Ips subelongatus.^[3]

The insect measures around 5 mm and has a dark brown to black colour. The species is considered hard to distinguish visually from Ips typographus.^[3]

As a pest

Ips cembrae is native to most of its habitat and is considered less of a pest risk than Ips typographus.^[4] The beetle mainly affect the European larix, larix decidua, especially during periods of drought.^{[2] [5]} Besides damage from digging tunnels, the beetle also spreads fungi between trees.

Parasites

The species can be infected by several nematode parasites: Contortylenchus, Parasitylenchus, Cryptaphelenchus and Parasitorhabditis endoparasites, Micoletzkya under the wings as phoretic parasites. Laimaphelenchus and Bursaphelenchus are found in the frass.^[6]

Further reading

• Crooke, Myles, and D. Bevan. "Note on the first British occurrence of Ips cembrae Heer (Col. Scolytidae)." Forestry 30.1 (1957): 21–28.
• Ips cembrae and Ips subelongatus. 10.1111/j.1365-2338.2005.00880.x. EPPO Bulletin. 35. 3. 2005. 445–449 . free.

Notes and References

1. Grodski, Wojciech. "Ips cembrae Heer (Col.: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) in young larch stands–a new problem in Poland." Forstschutz Aktuell 44 (2008): 8-9.
2. 10.1093/oxfordjournals.forestry.a063092. Note on the First British Occurrence of Ips Cembrae Heer (Col. Scolytidae) . 1957 . Crooke . Myles . Bevan . D. . Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research . 30 . 21–28 .
3. Pest categorisation of Ips cembrae. 2017. 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.5039. free. Jeger. Michael. Bragard. Claude. Caffier. David. Candresse. Thierry. Chatzivassiliou. Elisavet. Dehnen‐Schmutz. Katharina. Gilioli. Gianni. Jaques Miret. Josep Anton. MacLeod. Alan. Navajas Navarro. Maria. Niere. Björn. Parnell. Stephen. Potting. Roel. Rafoss. Trond. Rossi. Vittorio. Urek. Gregor. Van Bruggen. Ariena. Van Der Werf. Wopke. West. Jonathan. Winter. Stephan. Kertész. Virág. Aukhojee. Mitesha. Grégoire. Jean‐Claude. Grégoire. J. C.. EFSA Journal. 15. 11. e05039. 32625339. 7009832.
4. EPPO/CABI 1997. Ips typographus. In: Quarantine pests for Europe, 2nd edn. Ed. by Smith IM, McNamara DG, Scott PR, Holderness M, CAB International, Wallingford.
5. Hougardy, Evelyne, and J-C. Grégoire. "Biological differences reflect host preference in two parasitoids attacking the bark beetle Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Belgium." Bulletin of entomological research 94.4 (2004): 341-347.
6. Grucmanová, Š., Holuša, J., Čermák, V., & Nermuť, J. (2015). Nematodes associated withIps cembrae(Coleoptera: Curculionidae): comparison of generations, sexes and sampling methods. Journal of Applied Entomology, 140(5), 395–403. doi:10.1111/jen.12269