Ips acuminatus (Gyllenhal, 1827)

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 : 411-412

Ips acuminatus (Gyllenhal, 1827)

Distribution in Iran. West Azarbaijan ( Samin et al. 2011).

General distribution. Europe, through Russia to China, Korea, Japan.

Biology. This species usually breeds in Pinus (Pinaceae) , occasionally in Picea , Larix and Abies (Pinaceae) ( Balachowsky 1949; Stark 1952; Pfeffer 1995). Recorded in Iran from Abies nordmanniana ssp. bornmuelleriana ( Pinaceae ) ( Samin et al. 2011). The biology, gallery system and seasonal history are described by Chararas (1962), Bakke (1968a) and others. Like the other genera and species of Ipini found in Iran, it is polygamous, with several females joining one male. Each female constructs a separate egg gallery radiating out from a central chamber. However, unlike the others, I. acuminatus has two types of females, one which produces only female offspring, one which produces both sexes, usually with a 1:1 sex ratio ( Bakke 1968b). In the pseudogamous females, sperm are required to stimulate an ovum to develop into an embryo, but male genes are not transmitted to the offspring ( Kirkendall 1990). The natural enemies in France have been studied by Herard and Mercadier (1996). It used to be considered a secondary species and not of economic importance ( Chararas 1962; Bakke 1968a). However, more recently, it has been involved in the mortality of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) in alpine areas of Europe ( Wermelinger et al. 2008; Colombari et al. 2012, 2013), and is now considered an important pest species.

Comments. Meteorus breviantennatus Tobias, 1986 ( Hymenoptera : Braconidae ) is the parasitoid of Ips acuminatus ( Tobias 1986) in northern Iran ( Farahani & Talebi 2012).