XYLOSANDRUS COMPACTUS AND LIPARTHRUM COLCHICUM (COLEOPTERA SCOLYTINAE) IN TUSCANY: A PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF ASSOCIATED FUNGI.

Xylosandrus compactus and Liparthrum colchicum are two Scolytinae recorded for the first time in Italy in 2011 and 2019, respectively. X. compactus is an "ambrosia beetle" causing damages to several plants typical of the Mediterranean maquis through its digging activity on twigs and branches of the host plants. L. colchicum is a "bark beetle", monophagous on laurel shrubs and trees. During a survey performed in summer of 2020, in "Tenuta Salviati" located in the Migliarino Natural Park (Pisa, Tuscany), adults of X. compactus and L. colchicum were collected from the same branches and apical twigs of Laurus nobilis hedges. The study aimed at characterizing fungi isolated from the external surface of the two scolytids bodies, to evaluate similarities and even their role in fungal spreading in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]