Bark Beetles of Hawaii (subfam. Scolytinae)

Brief description

Formerly considered their own family (Scolytidae), the Scolytinae bark beetles are now a subfamily of the weevil family Curculionidae. These often small, dark, beetles burrow into the inner bark or other tree parts, such as fruits, where they reproduce, commonly forming galleries on the surface of the wood. Certain members of this family are among the worlds worst crop and forests pests, including the coffee berry borer beetle and the mountain pine beetle. The mountain pine beetle has been connected to massive pine tree dieoffs in the western U.S in recent decades. Similarly damaging species attack Elm and Spruce trees in the U.S. and Europe. These beetles may not directly kill the trees they attack, but are thought to transport pathogens and make the trees susceptible to disease and fungi which ultimately kill the tree. In the U.S. the mountain pine beetle's widespread distruction - dispite it being a native species  - is believed to be connected to climate change, leading to mild winters which fail to kill the beetles, causing population booms. Please help us transcribe the UHIM collection of these damaging, globally important Scolytinae beetles. The total number of tasks for this dataset is: 332, number transcribed is 332 and number validated is 0.

Notes

Includes: point occurrence data