Xyloterinus politus (Say)

Barnouin, Thomas, Soldati, Fabien, Roques, Alain, Faccoli, Massimo, Kirkendall, Lawrence R., Mouttet, Raphaëlle, Daubree, Jean-Baptiste & Noblecourt, Thierry, 2020, Bark beetlesand pinhole borers recently ornewly introduced toFrance (Coleoptera Curculionidae, Scolytinae and Platypodinae), Zootaxa 4877 (1), pp. 51-74 : 66

- Xyloterinus politus (Say)

( Fig. 2F )

Distribution. Native to North America , distributed throughout the northern portions of eastern United States and southeastern Canada ( Wood & Bright 1992). France is the first European country colonized by this species. Report-ed in Seine-Maritime for the first time in 2017 in a blog ( Dodelin & Saurat 2017), its presence was then confirmed in a forest of the same department. Given the current distribution, X. politus likely entered the French territory via the port of Le Havre. Although so far only few individuals have been captured, the presence in a natural forest suggests it is established in France. However, for the moment X. politus seems to be a non-aggressive and rare species.

Literature records: SEINE-MARITIME – Near Le Havre, PNR of the Boucles de la Seine Normande, interception trap, 2017, 2 ind. ( Dodelin & Saurat 2017); Near Le Havre, PNR of the Boucles de la Seine Normande, caught on a young and died field maple, 08.VIII.2017, 1 ♀ ( Dodelin & Saurat 2017).

New records: SEINE-MARITIME – Vatteville-la-Rue, FD Brotonne, RBI des Landes, interception traps baited with ethanol 20%, from 15.V. to 29.V.2018, 1 ind., S. Etienne leg.

Biology and Ecology. In its native range, X. politus is highly polyphagous and has been recorded from a wide variety of angiosperm families, and has even been collected from conifers; in the eastern U.S. it is said to attack mainly Fagaceae ( Quercus and Fagus ) ( MacLean & Giese 1967).Although in France this species has been observed only on field maple ( Acer campestre L.) ( Dodelin & Saurat 2017), its host range should ultimately be much broader. In the United States, this ambrosia beetle colonizes very weak or recently dead trees, with a preference for fallen trunks ( MacLean & Giese 1967).

Damage and infestation risk. In North America this species is considered a secondary pest, so it is unlikely that it will become a phytosanitary threat in France, even though behavioral changes of invasive alien species arriving in new environments and experiencing changes in climate cannot be excluded ( Kühnholz et al. 2001; Knižek 2007; Hulcr & Dunn 2011).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff (2.2 mm). A. dorsal view; B. lateral view. Xyleborus bispinatus Eichhoff (2.8 mm). C. dorsal view; D. lateral view. Xyleborus ferrugineus (Fabricius) (2.4 mm). E. dorsal view. Xyloterinus politus (Say) (3.4 mm). F. dorsal view. Length of specimens in brackets. (Photos: Fabien Soldati).