Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Boring in response to bark and phloem extracts from North American trees does not explain host acceptance behavior of Orthotomicus erosus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Informally Refereed

Abstract

When invasive herbivorous insects encounter novel plant species, they must determine whether the novel plants are hosts. The Mediterranean pine engraver, Orthotomicus erosus (Wollaston), an exotic bark beetle poised to expand its range in North America, accepts hosts after contacting the bark. To test the hypothesis that O. erosus accepts hosts on the basis of gustatory cues, we prepared bark and phloem extracts from logs of four North American tree species that we had used in previous host acceptance experiments. Water, methanol, and hexane extracts of red pine, tamarack, balsam fir, and paper birch were presented alone and in combination on a neutral filter paper substrate in a section of a plastic drinking straw.

Keywords

bark beetle, boring incitant, host-range prediction, invasive species, Pinaceae

Citation

Walter, Abigail J.; Kells, Stephen A.; Venette, Robert C.; Seybold, Steven J. 2010. Boring in response to bark and phloem extracts from North American trees does not explain host acceptance behavior of Orthotomicus erosus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae). Environmental Entomology. 39(2): 661-669.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/34916