Pityogenes

Pityogenes

 

a genus of beetles (Coleoptera) of the family Scolytidae (bark beetles). The shiny brown body is cylindrical, measuring 1.5–2.5 mm in length. The insects are widely distributed; the USSR has 15 species. They develop under the bark of coniferous trees, digging star-shaped passages with a central chamber. The most common species are P. chalcographus, which occurs on spruces and, less commonly, on other conifers, and P. bidentatus, which is found mainly on pines and, to a lesser extent, on spruces and firs.