Ambrosiophilus peregrinusSmith and Cognato, New Species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), an Exotic Ambrosia Beetle Discovered in Georgia, USA

The Essential Role of Taxonomic Expertise in the Creation of DNA Databases for the Identification and Delimitation of Southeast Asian Ambrosia Beetle Species (Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini)

“…Global trade and the use of wood products as ballast and crating have contributed to an accelerated rate of dispersal of these beetles in many parts of the world (Haack and Rabaglia, 2013;Cognato et al, 2015;Gohli et al, 2017;Meurisse et al, 2018). The first recored introduction of a xyleborine species in the US dates to 1817, but the rate of introduction accelerated with 17 new out of the total 28 exotic species in just the last 30 years (Haack and Rabaglia, 2013;Smith and Cognato, 2015;Gomez et al, 2018;Hoebeke et al, 2018). A subset of these species has also been introduced into Europe in the last two decades (Kirkendall and Faccoli, 2010;Dodelin, 2018).…”

A monograph of the Xyleborini (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) of the Indochinese Peninsula (except Malaysia) and China

“…Nevertheless, the keys provide a gateway into identifying this economically important group of beetles. A comprehensive publication for SE Asia is conspicuously absent and lack of this resource has caused delays in identifying non-native species or mistaken identities (Smith and Cognato 2015;Smith et al 2017b;Hoebeke et al 2018).…”

Mutualism with aggressive wood-degrading Flavodon ambrosius (Polyporales) facilitates niche expansion and communal social structure in Ambrosiophilus ambrosia beetles

“…Similar to Ambrosiodmus, Ambrosiophilus atratus has spread rapidly throughout the Eastern U.S.A. since it was first detected in Maryland in 1983; it is now reportedly present in 29 states (Atkinson 2016). In 2013, a second and previously undescribed Ambrosiophilus species, A. peregrinus, a species presumed to be native to Asia, was reported from northern Georgia (Smith and Cognato 2015). Similar to Ambrosiodmus (Faccoli et al 2009, Li et al 2015, the fungal mutualist of Ambrosiophilus appears to sustain large beetle colonies even in the presence of advanced decay and co-colonization by other wood decay fungi, long after tree death.…”