Description: The Six-spined engraver beetle is a coleopter, 5.5-8.2 mm in length and is a very serious disease in pines. The most susceptible species are Scots pine, and the black and maritime pine.

Number of annual generations: normally, from 1 to 5 generations a year depending on the weather; in the Mediterranean there are usually three.

Damage: usually attacks weakened trees or dying ones, but when the population is high they may attack healthy ones. They dig galleries under the bark of the tree to feed on the phloem. This gallery construction paralyzes the flow of sap, and can kill the affected tree.