Xylosandrus compactus

Xylosandrus compactus
An adult Xylosandrus compactus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Xylosandrus
Species:
X. compactus
Binomial name
Xylosandrus compactus
(Eichhoff, 1875)
Synonyms
  • Xyleborus compactus
  • Xyleborus morstatti

Xylosandrus compactus is a species of ambrosia beetle. Common names for this beetle include black twig borer, black coffee borer, black coffee twig borer and tea stem borer. The adult beetle is dark brown or black and inconspicuous; it bores into a twig of a host plant and lays its eggs, and the larvae create further tunnels through the plant tissues. These beetles are agricultural pests that damage the shoots of such crops as coffee, tea, cocoa and avocado.