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.
Coyle
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USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, New Ellenton, SC 29809, USA. dcoyle@entomology.wisc.edu
Booth
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Wallace
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D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal; D032107:Populus / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D014887:Weather