small southern pine engraver Ipsavulsus (Eichhoff, 1868)
Origin
Ips avulsus, small southern pine engraver is native to the Americas. Ips beetles usually attack weakened, dying, or recently felled trees and fresh logging debris.
Life Cycle
The small southern pine engraver Ips avulsus is the smallest of the Ips bark-beetles. Adults are 0.09-0.11 in. (2.3-2.8 mm) long, and have four small spines on each side of the sunken area on their rear ends. The wing covers of Ips avulsus are lighter brown than the thorax. It breeds in all species of pines. The life cycle of this beetle can be completed in as few as 25 days and there may be six generations each year. The eggs are about 0.03 in. (0.8 mm) long by 0.02 in. (0.46 mm) wide, and larvae have heads up to 0.03 in. (0.7 mm) wide. Pupae are waxy white and similar in size to adults.
Distribution
Ips avulsus, is the only species confined almost entirely to the Southern United States. It prefers the thin bark on cut tree limbs and tops, but can attack and kill groups of young, vigorous trees and the tops of large, living trees. Ips avulsus attacks on the tops of large trees and are often associated with attacks by other species of bark beetles on the lower portion of the tree.
Control Efforts
Beetle-caused damage can be reduced through one or more prevention or suppression techniques. Other control methods are burning, chipping, debarking, or burying infested portions of trees. Burning should be restricted to periods of low fire danger, and Federal and State laws should be observed. Land managers may consult their nearest county, State, or Federal forestry personnel for recommendations on management practices to be followed in a particular stand or area.