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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #240345
Title: Chemical ecology of bark beetles in regard to search and selection of host trees

Author
item Byers, John
item ZHANG, QING-HE - Sterling International, Inc

Submitted to: Recent Advances in Entomological Research
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2010
Publication Date: 8/14/2010
Citation: Byers, J.A., Zhang, Q.H. 2010. Chemical ecology of bark beetles in regard to search and selection of host trees, pp. 88-111. In, Recent Advances in Entomological Research (eds.) T.X. Liu and L. Kang. The Higher Education Press (Beijing).

Interpretive Summary: Northern hemisphere pest bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) feed on conifers, primarily pines (Pinus) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) of Europe and Asia. Bark beetles use sense of smell(olfactory strategies) to discriminate suitable host trees from among less suitable, fully insect infested, or decaying host trees as well as non-host deciduous trees and shrubs. Bark beetles also use olfactory strategies to find mates and select boring-hole sites in which to enter the bark. These strategies have implications for the interactions between trees and bark beetles and the mutual responses of insect and plant toward each other over evolutionary time. Knowledge of the chemical ecology of insect-insect and insect-plant relationships is necessary to develop improved methods for monitoring and controlling pest bark beetles that kill forest trees.

Technical Abstract: Bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), especially pests in the genera Dendroctonus, Ips, Scolytus, Trypodendron, Tomicus, and Pityogenes of the Northern hemisphere are reviewed regarding aspects of their chemical ecology during host finding and selection. Most of the species covered here feed on conifers, primarily pines (Pinus) in the Northern hemisphere and Norway spruce (Picea abies) of Europe and Asia. Bark beetles use a variety of olfactory strategies to discriminate suitable host trees from among less suitable, overcolonized, or decaying hosts as well as nonhosts. Bark beetles also use olfactory strategies to find mates and select attack sites. These strategies have implications for coevolution of trees and bark beetles. Knowledge of the chemical ecology of insect-insect and insect-plant relationships is necessary to develop improved methods for monitoring and controlling bark beetles that are predators of trees.