Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg, 1837)

Beaver, Roger A., Ghahari, Hassan & Sanguansub, Sunisa, 2016, An annotated checklist of Platypodinae and Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from Iran, Zootaxa 4098 (3), pp. 401-441 : 422-423

Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg, 1837)

Distribution in Iran. Generally distributed ( Modarres Awal 1997 as Xyleborus saxeseni ), Iran (no locality cited) ( Mifsud & Knížek 2009; Knížek 2011).

General distribution. Throughout the Palaearctic region. Introduced into North and South America , Australia and South Africa.

Biology. It attacks a wide range of trees in many different families, including both conifers and angiosperms ( Wood & Bright 1992). Recorded in Iran from Alnus sp., Corylus avellana (Betulaceae) , Castanea sativa , Fagus orientalis (Fagaceae) , Juglans regia (Juglandaceae) , Fraxinus excelsior (Oleaceae) , Malus pumila , Mespilus germanica , Prunus sp., Pyrus communis (Rosaceae) , Populus sp., Salix sp. ( Salicaceae ), Acer sp. ( Sapindaceae ), Tilia begonifolia (Tiliaceae) , Ulmus spp . ( Ulmaceae ) ( Modarres Awal 1997). The biology of the species has been studied by Fischer (1954), Egger (1973), Hosking (1973), Peer and Taborsky (2007), Biedermann (2010), Biedermann & Taborsky (2011) and others. The larvae enlarge the gallery system as they develop, and frequently feed on fungus-infested wood rather than the ambrosia fungus alone (Wood 1982; Biedermann et al. 2009). The species is strongly attracted to ethanol (e.g. Markalas & Kalapanida 1997; Saruhan & Akyol 2012). It is a pest of hazelnut in the Mediterranean area ( Saruhan & Akyol 2012), and of stressed trees in fruit orchards and forest plantations. Damage to timber is also caused by the galleries and associated staining of the wood ( Chararas 1962).

Comments. Nikolskayana mirabilis Bouček, 1965 ( Hymenoptera : Pteromalidae ) was recorded by Abd-Rabou et al. (2005) and Ghahari & Huang (2012) as a parasitoid of X. saxesenii on Prunus sp. in Iran.