Scolytus Geoffroy, 1762

Amini, Sudabe, Nozari, Jamasb, Martinez, Isabel, Hosseini, Reza & Faccoli, Massimo, 2020, Morphological and molecular identification of the Iranian bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae), Zootaxa 4852 (3), pp. 251-284 : 271-273

Scolytus Geoffroy

Scolytus is a large and strongly sexually dimorphic genus. To simplify identification, the genus has been split into three groups based on the armature of the second, third and fourth ventrites. Males and females of one species can key out in different groups.

Key to groups of Scolytus

1. Second abdominal ventrite with one or two median spines or a tubercle. The tubercle is larger than others spines occurring on the third and fourth segment…...................................................................... group I

- Second abdominal ventrite unarmed by spines or tubercles (sometimes a tubercle may occur, but in this case is strongly smaller than the spines occurring on the third and or fourth ventrite)…................................................. 2

2. Posterior margin of the third or fourth ventrite with small central spines ora obliquely plate in the middle (except for females of S. pygmaeus and S. ratzeburgi for which see group III)…................................................ group II

- No spine, tubercles or plate on the ventrite. Frons flat in males, convex in female…........................... group III

Key to group I

1. Anterior margin of the second ventrite with one large tubercle…................................................ 2

- Small spine in the middle or on the posterior margin of the second ventrite. Ventrite without teeth in the lateral corners. Third and fourth ventrite without median tubercle….............................................................. 6

2. Second ventrite obliquely and uniformly ascendant. Ventrite 2 with sharp teeth in the lateral corners…...................3

- Second ventrite long and vertically ascendant. Ventrite 2 without sharp teeth in the lateral corners.Also third and fourth ventrite with median tubercles in male…......................................................................... 4

3. Elytral apices with disperse hair. Male frons with flat, with long hairs. Lateral hairs longer and curved internally. Female frons convex with disperse hairs. Abdomen covered with few short yellow hairs..................… S. multistriatus (Marsham)

Palaearctic distribution: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Russia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Macedonia, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia and Montenegro, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: Fars ( Borumand 1998), Guilan ( Borumand 1998; Samin et al. 2011; Amini et al. 2012), Rostamkola-Mazandaran Province, original data.

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor , U. glabra ( Pfeffer 1995) , Populus spp . ( Bright & Skidmore 2002; Bright 2014).

- Elytral apices with a brush of hairs in male. Female with dense hairs. Ventrite with dense and long hairs. Male frons with straight hairs, but lateral hair not longer and not curved internally. Female frons convex, and covered with hairs…............................................................................................ S. orientalis (Eggers)

Palaearctic distribution: Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: Northern provinces (Modares Awal 1997).

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor , Zelkova carpinifolia ( Pfeffer 1995) , Ulmus pumila (Modares Awal 1997) .

4. Venter with spines flat, as long as wide in male, longer than wide in female. Male frons flat with long yellow hairs, female frons convex with short and disperse hairs. Color brown-dark to blackish. 2.8−3.2 mm long….......... S. eckesteini (Butovitsch)

Palaearctic distribution: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Amini et al. 2013).

Iran distribution: Sangar-Guilan Province ( Amini et al. 2013).

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor , Zelkova spp . (Aksent’ev 1993; Amini et al. 2013).

- Venter with spines rounded or conical…................................................................... 5

5. Male frons concave with a marginal edge of yellow hairs. Female frons convex with disperse hairs. Black with brownish elytra. Pronotum with small and fine punctures. Elytra as long as pronotum in males, slightly longer than pronotum in females. Striae and interstriae with regular large and dense punctures. Abdominal spine long and curved toward up in male, short and right in female. Third ventrite of male with small granules, fourth ventrite with a small median tubercle. 2.3−3.2 mm long…............................................................................................ S. ensifer Eichhoff

Palaearctic distribution: Austria, Azores, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Russia, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: Sangar, Guilan province ( Amini et al. 2013), Markazi ( Borumand 1998), northern provinces (Modares Awal 1997).

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor ( Amini et al. 2013) , U. glabra , Zelkova carpinifolia ( Pfeffer 1995) .

- Male frons deeply concave with long hairs. Female frons convex and glabrous. Pronotum with small punctures. Elytra as long as pronotum Abdominal spine curved and its length female as long as male. Fourth ventrite in male with a median small tubercle. 2.3−3.1 mm long…......................................................... S. varshalovitchi Michalski

Palaearctic distribution: Azerbaijan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Amini et al. 2017).

Iran distribution: Gorgan ( Amini et al. 2017).

Host plants in Iran: Carpinus betulus (Pffefer 1995) , Zelkova carpinifolia ( Amini et al. 2017) .

6. Small spine located in medial area of the second ventrite….................................................... 7

- Small spine located in the middle of the superior margin of the second ventrite. In the female the spine is barely visible. Pronotum and lateral sides of elytra, as well as ventrites, with short and disperse hairs. Frons convex with elongate punctures. In males with long and dense hairs, in females with few disperse hairs. Pronotum with deep punctures. Both striae and interstriae with large punctures. Sharp abdominal spine. Color dark brown to black. 2.0−5.0 mm long….... S. jaroschevskyi Schevyrew

Palaearctic distribution: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: Kopetdhag in Quchan provience ( Petrov 2013).

Host plants in Iran: Elaeagnus angustifolia , Ulmus minor ( Pfeffer 1995) .

7. Abdomen with disperse short hairs. Abdominal spine short, as long as wide, rounded, in male apically broadened, in female shorter and cylindrical. Male frons flat with long hairs. Female frons convex and with short hairs. Pronotum with dense large punctures. Elytral punctures varying from large and deep punctures indistinguishable between striae and interstriae, and small punctures on the interstriae. Body color dark brown. 3.0−4.0 mm long…....................... S. schevyrewi Semenov

Palaearctic distribution: Russia, China, Kyrgysstan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: no locality given ( Petrov 2013).

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor, Persica vulgaris , Elaeagnus angustifolia , Malus orientalis ( Pfeffer 1995) .

- Abdomen with dense long hairs combined with some short hairs between them. Abdominal spine oval. Both male and female frons convex with wrinkled and oval punctures. Elytra with dense punctures in rows, such as striae and interstriae are hardly distinguishable…..................................................................................... 8

8. Male frons with short, thin, yellow, disperse hairs. Female frons without hairs or rarely with short hairs above the clypeus. Color brown to dark brown and semi-opaque. 2.0−3.0 mm long…............................... S. kirschii kirschii Skalitzky

Palaearctic distribution: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine. Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Turkmenistan ( Knížek 2011), Iran ( Beaver et al. (2016).

Iran distribution: West Azarbaijan ( Samin et al. 2011), southern provinces (Modares Awal 1997).

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor , U. glabra ( Pfeffer 1995; Modares Awal 1997).

- Both male and female frons with long yellow hairs. Color brown to dark brown, often with a dark transverse band in the posterior of the reddish–brown elytra. 2.0− 3.5 mm long…..................................... S. kirschii fasciatus Reitter

Palaearctic distribution: France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Algeria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey ( Knížek 2011), Iran (Beaver et al. 2016).

Iran distribution: Mazandaran (Modares Awal 1997), Sangar-Guilan Province, original data.

Host plants in Iran: Ulmus minor , U. glabra, Persica vulgaris , Armeniaca vulgaris ( Pfeffer 1995) , Prunus armeniaca , Prunus domestica , Prunus spinosa (Rosaceae) (Modares Awal 1997).