Cnestus is a genus of ambrosia beetles.

Cnestus
female Cnestus sp. from Hong Kong
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Subfamily: Scolytinae
Tribe: Xyleborini
Genus: Cnestus
Sampson, 1911

One prominent species is Cnestus mutilatus, the camphor shot borer. It is an invasive species that originated in Asia, and has spread over much of the Eastern United States.[1][2]

Description

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Beetles of this genus are commonly around 3–4 mm in body length.

Etymology

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The original author did not give any indication on the etymology of the genus name.[3]

Taxonomy

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Around twenty species have been described for this genus.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Barkbeetles.info: Cnestus mutilatus
  2. ^ Bugguide: Cnestus mutilatus
  3. ^ Sampson, Winn (1911). "LII.—On two new Wood-boring beetles (Ipidæ)". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 8 (45): 381–384. doi:10.1080/00222931108693046.
  4. ^ Sittichaya, Wisut; Beaver, Roger A. (2018). "Cnestus quadrispinosus, a new species of xyleborine ambrosia beetle from Thailand and Borneo (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Xyleborini)". ZooKeys (795): 31–37. doi:10.3897/zookeys.795.28384. PMC 6232242. PMID 30429655.