Characteristics of Mountain Pine Beetles Reared in Four Pine Hosts

Abstract

Mountain pine beetles, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), obtained from naturally infested lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann, were reared in four common hosts: ponderosa pine, P. ponderosa Lawson; western white pine, P. monticola Douglas; whitebark pine, P. albicaulis Engelmann; and lodgepole pine. Emerging beetles were collected daily, counted, and sexed, and pronotal width was measured. Significant differences in brood production, size of female beetles, and developmental rate, but not sex ratio, occurred among hosts. Differences were not all associated with the same species of tree. However, the results indicate that, overall, lodgepole pine is the poorest, and ponderosa pine is the best, of the four hosts for mountain pine beetles.