In 2003, an Asian bark beetle, Scolytus schevyrewi Semenov ( Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), the banded elm bark beetle, was detected for the first time in North America. This paper modifies the Wood (1982) key to the species of Scolytus Geoffroy to enable identification of Scolytus schevyrewi in North and Central America. Variation of diagnostic characters in Scolytus schevyrewi is discussed.