Short pest overview:

It is a genus of beetles in the family Curculionidae, the true weevils. They are bark beetles, members of the subfamily Scolytinae. Many species are pests of forest trees, especially pines and spruces. They are known commonly as engraver beetles, Ips engraver beetles, and Pine engravers. A living tree can be killed by the feeding activity of adults and larvae, which damages the phloem in such a way that the tree is girdled.

Geographic Distribution:

Species are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Some are known as introduced species in Australia and Africa.

Life Cycle:

Ips beetles rarely attack healthy trees. Most problems with Ips occur to newly transplanted pines or when plants are under stress. Ips grandicollis and Ips calligraphus complete their life cycle in 25 days. Several generations (up to 8) of Ips spp. can occur in a season. Whereas Ips avulsus needs 18 days to complete its life cycle, and there could be up to 10 generations per year.