Scolytus varshalovitchi Michalski, 1973

Amini, Sudabe, Nozari, Jamasb, Mandelshtam, Michail Yu., Knížek, Miloš, Etemad, Vahid & Faccoli, Massimo, 2017, New records of Iranian bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) and their host plants, Zootaxa 4350 (2) : -

Scolytus varshalovitchi Michalski, 1973

Material examined. Golestan province, Gorgan, Tooskestan N 37º 32' 48", E 55º 32' 28", 1200 m a.s.l., breeding in twigs of Z elkova sp. ( Ulmaceae ) Sudabe Amini leg., 2 specimens (2 females), August 2014.

Scolytus varshalovitchi was originally described from Lenkoran ( Azerbaijan) and until now known only from this locality. Although it is known to breed in Caucasian hornbeam ( Carpinus caucasicus ) ( Betulaceae ), we collected the species on Zelkova sp. representing a new host plant and the first record of this species outside Azerbaijan.

The females of this species can be distinguished from the closely related species S. ensifer Eichhoff, 1881 by the long abdominal process on the second sternite that in S. varshalovitchi is similar in form to the male process. In S. ensifer the second sternite process is much shorter in females compared to males ( Pfeffer 1995).