Ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) species, flight, and attack on living eastern cottonwood trees.
In spring 2002, ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) infested an intensively managed 22-ha tree plantation on the upper coastal plain of South Carolina. Nearly 3,500 scolytids representing 28 species were captured in ethanol-baited traps from 18 June 2002 to 18 April 2004. More than 88% of total captures were exotic species. Five species [Dryoxylon onoharaensum (Murayama), Euwallacea validus (Eichhoff), Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus (Zimmermann), Xyleborus atratus Eichhoff, and Xyleborus impressus Eichhoff]) were collected in South Carolina for the first time. Of four tree species in the plantation, eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides Bartram, was the only one attacked, with nearly 40% of the trees sustaining ambrosia beetle damage. Clone ST66 sustained more damage than clone S7C15. ST66 trees receiving fertilization were attacked more frequently than trees receiving irrigation, irrigation + fertilization, or controls, although the number of S7C15 trees attacked did not differ among treatments. The study location is near major shipping ports; our results demonstrate the necessity for intensive monitoring programs to determine the arrival, spread, ecology, and impact of exotic scolytids.
USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, New Ellenton, SC 29809, USA. dcoyle@entomology.wisc.edu
D R
DR
Coyle
D C
DC
Booth
M S
MS
Wallace
D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal; D032107:Populus / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014887:Weather