There are currently 50 exotic species of Scolytidae recorded from North America; since 1980 there have been 25 species reported. Since 1980, the majority of species established in North America are ambrosia beetles native to Asia. Ambrosia beetles are easily transported to new areas and readily established because of their broad host range, skewed sex-ratio, and extreme inbred sib-mating system. The USDA APHIS Pest Information Network (PIN) database has records of more than 600,000 pest interceptions at US ports between 1985-2000. Scolytidae is the most commonly intercepted beetle family, with more than 68,000 records in 49 genera. A recent US Forest Service pilot project for the rapid detection of exotic scolytids was initiated in 2001. During the three years trapping has taken place, four species of scolytids new to North America were identified: Hylurgops palliatus, Xyleborus similis, Xyleborus glabratus and Scolytus schevyrewi.