Xylosandrus Crassjusculus (Motschulsky), An Asian Ambrosia Beetle Recently Introduced Into Florida

Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) is a minute ambrosia beetle of Asian origin that was first detected in the continental U.S. near Charleston, South Carolina (Anderson 1974). It apparently has spread along the lower Piedmont region and coastal plain to North Carolina, Louisiana, Florida (Chapin and Oliver 1986, Deyrup and Atkinson 1987), and East Texas (Atkinson, unpublished) (Fig. 6). It was collected in western Florida in 1983 (Chapin and Oliver 1986), in southern Florida in 1985 (Deyrup and Atkinson 1987), and now is distributed throughout the state . In the Gainesville area it is abundant in urban, agricultural, and forested areas.

We recently observed damaging attacks on potted saplings of Shumard oak ( Quercus Shumardii Buckl.) and Drake elm ( Ulmus parvitolia Jacq. cv. Drake) in a commercial nursery in Gainesville. It has been reported as a pest of nursery stock and young trees in the Old World tropics (Browne 1961, Schedl 1962) and of peach trees in South Carolina (Kovach and Gorsuch 1985). It is a potentially serious pest of ornamentals and fruit trees throughout Florida.