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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Rangeland Resources & Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #370486
Research Project: Adaptive Grazing Management and Decision Support to Enhance Ecosystem Services in the Western Great Plains

Location: Rangeland Resources & Systems Research

Title: Flight of the Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), in suburban Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA during summer 2011

Author
item NEGRON, JOSE - Us Forest Service (FS)
item Pate, Robert - Bear
item Derner, Justin

Submitted to: The Coleopterists Bulletin
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2020
Publication Date: 9/9/2020
Citation: Negron, J., Pate, R.J., Derner, J.D. 2020. Flight of the Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), in suburban Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA during summer 2011. The Coleopterists Bulletin. 74(3):532-535. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-74.3.532.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-74.3.532

Interpretive Summary: Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) trees experienced widespread death in the late 2000s from attacks by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). In Wyoming, the populations of mountain pine beetles were highest 2007-2010. Using a surburan wooded setting near Cheyenne, Wyoming, we used an attractant to trap mountain pine beetles to monitor their flight patterns in 2011. We first observed mountain pine beetles on June 20 and they continued to fly until October 3. We observed the highest numbers of mountain pine beetles in late July and early August, consistent with timing in natural landscapes of forested ecosystems. We observed flights of mountain pine beetles when daily maximum air temperatures ranged from 77-90 °F. Our observations suggest that the patterns of mountain pine beetles flights, timing of emergence and peak numbers, and influence of air temperatures are similar in suburban settings as found in the natural landscapes of forested ecosystems.

Technical Abstract: The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (MPB) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a major tree-killing bark beetle that attacks ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson, among other pines, across the western coniferous forests of North America. Elevated populations of mountain pine beetles across Wyoming reached their highest levels from 2007-2010. Peak mortality in 2009 affected approximately half a million hectares. In 2011, we deployed five 12-funnel Lindgren funnel traps with an attractant to monitor the flight pattern of mountain pine beetles. Mountain pine beetles were first caught 20 June, the highest numbers were observed on 26 July and 8 August, and we continued to catch mountain pine beetles until 3 October. Mountain pine beetles started flying when daily maximum air temperatures were about 25 °C, with peak emergence occurring at temperatures between 25 °C and 32 °C. Our substantiate that patterns of mountain pine beetles flight periodicity, peak emergence, and influence of air temperatures are consistent in both natural landscapes of forested ecosystems and suburban settings.