Xyleborus affinis
Beaver and Browne, 1978: A spanandrous ambrosia beetle with strong sexual dimorphism and extreme polygamy. It is not host selective. The gallery system is branched and without brood chambers, usually more or less in one transverse plane. Occasionally of economic importance. Kirkendall and Faccoli, 2010: This species is thought to be native to the Neotropics but is now established globally in the tropics and subtropics. In Europe, it has been found in the Mediterranean zone. This species is polyphagous and breeds by means of inbreeding. Wood, 2007: The habits and behavior of this species are very similar to those of ferrugineus and volvulus. They occur in the same habitats and usually occupy the same trees, except that affinis is usually less agressive and less abundant. The galleries are similar to ferrugineus, except that the surface tunnels on the xylem surface are exposed under peeled bark and are usually more extensive in ferrugineus and of different patterns. Moisture overabundance apparently determines whether or not these surface tunnels are formed. It is commonly attracted to light at night in large numbers. Wood, 1982: The ecological distribution is almost identical to ferrugineus except that it is apparently somewhat less aggressive and may attack smaller material. The gallery system is very similar to that of ferrugineus, except that surface tunnels on the peeled surface of the wood are a more common occurrence, with the surface tunnels usually more extensive. Moisture conditions evidently determine whether or not the surface tunnels are formed. Adjacent galleries often have connecting tunnels. More than one generation may inhabit and extend the gallery system. Rabaglia et al. 2006: This widely distributed species, along with X. ferrugineus, is native to tropical America (Wood 1977, 1982). Atkinson and Peck (1994), however, consider both of these species to be native to North America, because their distribution is contiguous from South and Central America through the southeastern United States. As with X. ferrugineus, this species can cause economic damage in moist, lowland areas of the Neotropics.