Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff

Beaver, R. A., Sittichaya, W. & Liu, L-Y., 2014, A Synopsis of the Scolytine Ambrosia Beetles of Thailand (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), Zootaxa 3875 (1), pp. 1-82 : 66

145. Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff

Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff, 1868: 401 .

Thai distribution: (unspecified province) ( Hutacharern et al. 2007 as Xyleborinus [sic] affinis and Xyleborus mascarensis Eichhoff ); C: Chanthaburi, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Nayok, Phetchaburi, Suphanburi; N: Chiang Mai, Kamphaeng Phet, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, Nakhon Sawan, Phetchabun, Phitsanulok; N-E: Chaiyaphum, Khon Kaen, Loei, Sakhon Nakhon, Ubon Ratchathani; S: Chumphon ( Sittichaya & Beaver 2009), Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Phangnga, Surat Thani.

New records: Widely distributed in all regions of the country. More than 800 specimens have been examined.

Other distribution: Probably native to tropical America ( Wood 1977), but now circumtropical. Less common in the Oriental region than in Africa and the Americas, but sometimes locally abundant. (5)

Biology: Strongly polyphagous ( Schedl 1963, as Xyleborus mascarensis Eichhoff, Wood 1982 ). The biology of the species is reviewed by Schedl (1963). Schneider (1987) notes that more than one generation may inhabit the same gallery system, and describes the oral mycangia. Seasonal changes in numbers caught in traps have been related to temperature and rainfall in Africa (Beaver & Löyttyniemi 1991, Madoffe & Bakke 1995), and in Central America ( Rangel et al. 2012). Flight height preference in Amazonia is described by Abreu et al. (2001). Laboratory rearing techniques, and the occurrence of delayed dispersal and alloparental care are discussed by Biedermann et al. (2009, 2011). In Thailand, the species is recorded attacking rubberwood ( Sittichaya & Beaver 2009, Kangkamanee et al. 2011), and stressed mango and cashew trees (Sittichaya 2012). It is common in durian plantations in southern Thailand ( Sittichaya et al. 2012). Although its attacks are secondary, the species can be of economic importance due to its abundance and wide host range.

Illustrations: P (e.g. Atkinson 2014, Hulcr 2013, PaDIL 2014); D ( Schedl 1963, Nunberg 1978).