Morphological and biological investigation of two pioneer Ips bark beetles in natural spruce forests in Qinghai Province, northwest China

Bark beetle species in natural stands of spruce, Picea crassifolia (Kom.) were investigated in Maixiu Forest Park, Qinghai Province, northwest China, during 2005 and 2007. Two pioneer Ips species, Ips nitidus Eggers and Ips shangrila Cognato and Sun were found. I. nitidus occurs naturally in northwest China. I. shangrila is a new species in the world. In the past, it was confused with I. mannsfeldi Wachtl in China. The damage of these two Ips species has been very severe in Maixiu and the morphological and biological characteristics were studied. I. nitidus starts to fly in early May and prefers the mid to lower part of the host tree to colonize as its habitat. I. shangrila always infests from the top of the trunk, especially in branches larger than 3 cm in diameter in the crowns and sometimes even colonizes entire young trees. The two Ips species are the most destructive secondary bark beetles on P. crassifolia and always cause mortality of trees by their cooperation.