Xyleborus perforans (Wollaston)

Beaver, R. A. & Liu, L. Y., 2010, An annotated synopsis of Taiwanese bark and ambrosia beetles, with new synonymy, new combinations and new records (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), Zootaxa 2602, pp. 1-47 : 32

121. Xyleborus perforans (Wollaston)

Tomicus perforans Wollaston, 1857: 96 .

Distribution: Throughout tropical parts of the Afrotropical, Australian and Oriental regions. Wood and Bright (1992) and Wood (2007) consider it to be absent from the Neotropical region, where it is replaced by Xyleborus volvulus (F.), but the species are doubtfully distinct and appear to overlap. [6]

Hosts: Strongly polyphagous (e. g. Browne 1961; Schedl 1963; Gray & Wylie 1974; Ohno 1990). There seem to be no host records from Taiwan, although the species is common in traps.

Biology: The biology is described by Browne (1961), Schedl (1963) and Kalshoven (1964). Largely due to its abundance, the species can be important in the downgrade of timber as a result of the ‘pinholes’ caused by its galleries, and the surrounding black stain caused by the associated ambrosia fungus.

Taxonomy: Molecular studies are needed to try to resolve the problem of the separation (or synonymy) of this species with X. volvulus and other closely related species.