The shoot-feeding ecology of three Tomicus species in Yunnan Province, southwestern China.
Three Tomicus pine shoot beetles, T. yunnanensis (Kirkendall and Faccoli) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), T. minor (Hartig), and T. brevipilosus (Wood and Bright), have been causing serious damage to Yunnan pine ( Pinus yunnanensis (Franchet) (Pinales: Pinaceae)) stands in Yunnan, southwestern China. However, their ability to coexist in the crowns of the same trees during the shoot-feeding phase has not been elucidated. In our study, we investigated and compared the shoot-feeding ecology of the three species of pine shoot beetle in P. yunnanensis in Anning County, Yunnan Province. Shoot-feeding by T. yunnanensis, T. minor, and T. brevipilosus initiated in April, May, and June, and ended in February, April, and May, respectively. Individual T. yunnanensis and T. minor adults fed in shoots for about seven months, and T. brevipilosus for nine months, before initiating reproduction. All three Tomicus species fed in the current-year shoots close to the apical bud. No specific overwintering behavior was observed prior to reproduction. The entrance hole of T. yunnanensis was furthest away from the apical bud, and T. minor was the closest to the apical bud. Differences in the spatial distribution of these shoot-feeding sites might reduce competition among the three beetle species. The long-lasting and overlapping shoot-feeding by the three Tomicus species may reduce the resistance of P. yunnanensis and facilitate the reproduction of these beetles in the trunks of living trees, and thus help explain the severe damage by Tomicus in P. yunnanensis.
Laboratory of Biological Invasion and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China These authors contributed equally to the manuscript lvjun@ynu.edu.cn.
Jun
J
Lu
Laboratory of Biological Invasion and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China Ecological Chemistry Group, Department of Chemistry, Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden These authors contributed equally to the manuscript taozhao@kth.se.
Tao
T
Zhao
Laboratory of Biological Invasion and Transboundary Ecosecurity, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China yehui@ynu.edu.cn.
Hui
H
Ye
D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020387:Food Chain; D028223:Pinus / Q000254:growth & development; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000254:growth & development; D013045:Species Specificity; D048889:Weevils / Q000502:physiology*
Pinus yunanensis; pine shoot beetles; population dynamics; shoot preference