Ips sexdentatus

Ips
Ips calligraphus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Curculionidae
Subfamily:	Scolytinae
Tribe:	Ipini
Genus:	Ips De Geer, 1775
Species
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see text

Ips is a genus of beetles in the family Curculionidae, the true weevils. They are bark beetles, members of the subfamily Scolytinae. Species are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Some are known as introduced species in Australia and Africa. Many species are pests of forest trees, especially pines and spruces. They are known commonly as engraver beetles,ips engraver beetles, and pine engravers.

Beetles of this genus are cylindrical in shape, 3 to 6.5 millimeters long, and reddish to black in color. The back end of the elytra is concave, and there is a ridge of 3 to 6 large spines on either side of the depression. The number and shape of the spines help to distinguish the species from one another. The genus is distinguished from other groups in the tribe Ipini by the flat, oval shape of the clubs at the tips of the antennae and by details of the concavity in the elytra and of the male genitalia.

The oblong white eggs are up to a millimeter long. The grub-like larvae are whitish with reddish heads and lack legs.

These bark beetles live in and feed on the phloem in the inner layer of bark on trees. They usually inhabit dead, dying, and stressed trees, including fallen trees, cut logs, and slash. They can be found in trees that are already damaged by drought, lightning, human activity, or pest infestation. They are specialists on conifers, attacking many species of pine (Pinus) and spruce (Picea). Less often, they are found on hemlocks (Tsuga) and firs (Abies).

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Wikipedia