A revision of the genus Pachyrhinus Schnherr 1823 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Entiminae) in the Nearctic Region.

The North American species of the broad-nosed weevil genus Pachyrhinus Schnherr 1823 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Entiminae) are revised. Three species of Pachyrhinus are here recognized in North America: P. elegans (Couper 1865), P. californicus (Horn 1876), and P. cinereus (Casey 1888). Pachyrhinus lateralis (Casey 1888) and P. miscix (Fall 1901) are here designated as synonyms of P. elegans. Pachyrhinus crassicornis (Casey 1888) and P. albidus (Fall 1901) are here designated synonyms of P. cinereus (Casey 1888) The previously proposed synonymy of P. ferrugineus (Casey 1888) with P. californicus was confirmed. This revision includes detailed images of diagnostic characters as well as scanning electron micrographs of scale morphology for all species. A key to the Nearctic species of Pachyrhinus is provided. All Nearctic species of Pachyrhinus are considered minor pests of Pinus spp. [Pinaceae].

New record for the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, in Hawaii.

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is endemic to Africa and is the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide. The female bores a hole in the coffee berry and deposits her eggs inside. Upon hatching, larvae feed on the seeds, thus reducing both quality and yields of the marketable product. The coffee berry borer was found in the district of Kona on the island of Hawaii in August 2010 and appears to be restricted to that area.

Leptographium wingfieldii introduced into North America and found associated with exotic Tomicus piniperda and native bark beetles.

Leptographium wingfieldii is a well-known fungal associate of the pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda, in Europe. This fungus is pathogenic to pines and is an important cause of blue-stain in the sapwood of infested trees. Tomicus piniperda was first found in a Christmas tree plantation in Ohio, USA, 1992, but isolation of the fungi associated with these intercepted insects was not attempted. Fungal strains resembling L. wingfieldii were recently isolated from pines attacked by T. piniperda, Dendroctonus valens and Ips pini in the northeastern United States. These strains were morphologically similar to the ex-type and other reference strains of L. wingfieldii. Strains were also compared based on sequences of the partial ITS ribosomal DNA operon, beta-tubulin and elongation factor 1-alpha (EF-1alpha) genes. Based on these DNA sequence comparisons, reference strains of European L. wingfieldii were conspecific with North American strains from pines attacked by T. piniperda, D. valens and I. pini. A single strain from Canada, collected in 1993 near the Ontario border with the USA, shortly after the discovery of T. piniperda in that area and tentatively identified as L. wingfieldii, was also included in this study. Its identification was confirmed, suggesting that L. wingfieldii has been present in this region and probably over the whole range of the insect's distribution for at least a decade. This represents the first record of L. wingfieldii associated with the introduced and damaging pine shoot beetle T. piniperda in North America. It shows that the fungus is well established and can become associated with other native bark beetles that attack stressed and/or dying trees. The occurrence and spread of this highly pathogenic fungus associated with North American bark beetles should be monitored.