A small elongate cylindrical beetle about 1/6 th inch long ( about 4 mm). This beetle is dark brown with distinct light and dark patterns due to dense covering of flattened whitish gray scales. Brown and gray scales on the elytrum form a herringbone pattern. This beetle was identified by Tony Palmer an entomologist at Fontenelle Forest. Its genus was confirmed by experts at Bugguide.net.
This photo was taken at the Nature Center. This beetle lives on various species of ash. We would expect it to reasonable common in Fontenelle Forest. It is found in the eastern United States west to the Rocky Mountains.
They attack and breed in weakened, felled, and storm-damaged trees; only occasionally do they attack healthy trees. On some sites of the dry Great Plains, the western ash bark beetle causes severe branch- and top-kill. This beetle belongs to the subfamily Scolytinae (Bark and ambrosia beetles).
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