Wood-boring Insects Research Articles

Decay, stains, and beetles in ice-storm-damaged forests: A review

A potential long-term threat to ice-damaged forests exists from decays, stains, and wood-boring insects. Damage to large branches or to the main stem can result in heartwood decay, particularly in older or less healthy trees. However, in branch stubs with a diameter of less than 7.5 cm, decay progresses to only a limited degree. Stem damage is not usual after ice storms. However, sunscald is common in sugar maple stands with damaged crowns, sometimes resulting in infection by the sap rot fungus Cerrena unicolor. Fungi of the genera Ophiostoma, Ceratocystis and Ceratocystiopsis (blue stains) can cause significant staining to standing timber in damaged softwood stands; however, these fungi do not cause structural damage. Bark beetles (scolytidae) and wood-borers (buprestidae and cerambycidae), which attack damaged trees in northeastern North America are normally secondary invaders. However, thinning of the canopy from ice damage could cause increased infestation by these insects. Key words: ice storm, decay, fungi, beetle

Detection of wood boring insects by measurement of oxygen consumption

A possible method for detection of wood-boring insects in wood is the measurement of oxygen consumption. In order to develop such a method, several parameters have to be determined first. The most important one is to determine the respiration rate of possible pest species. To obtain the data for establishing the method mentioned above, the respiration rates of the following species were determined: the old house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, common furniture beetle, Anobium punctatum and subterranean termite, Reticulitermes lucifugus. We compared the O 2 consumption between different species as well as between adults and larvae of one species in different environmental conditions (temperature, day/night and light/dark regime). The most intensive respiration rates were found for the larvae of Hylotrupes bajulus (4.0 ml/g h O 2) and Anobium punctatum (3.9 ml/g h O 2). Less intensive breathing was measured by Reticulitermes lucifugus (workers 2.9 ml/g h, nymphs 2.6 ml/g.h and soldiers 2.0 ml/g h O 2). These results indicate that it is possible to detect the presence of wood-boring insects respirometrically. To detect the presence of an individual insect in the wood by means of respirometry, the sensitivity of the instrument for oxygen measurement at the optimal conditions must be around 0.2 ml/h.

Impacts of chipping on surrogates for the longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in logs.

As part of the eradication program for recent introductions of the longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) in the United States, wood from infested trees is chipped and incinerated. Two tests were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of chipping wood from infested trees on the survival of the beetle. In the first test, plastic worms were used as surrogates for larvae of the beetle. Plastic worms of different sizes were placed in holes drilled in logs of sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh. In a second test, in addition to plastic worms, we used different instars and pupae of gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae); larvae of the beetle Phyllophaga annina Lewis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae); and larvae of an unidentified weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Although chipping did not result in an obvious damage to all plastic worms, it did kill all larvae and pupae of insects placed in holes of maple logs. The overall recovery rate (percent recovered) for the plastic worms was 96% in the first (1997) test, and 71 and 98% for 10 and 40 mm long plastic worms in the second (1998) test, respectively. Logistic regression analysis of the data from the first experiment indicates that larger worms receive more severe damage. Size of logs did not have a significant effect on the level of damage received by plastic worms. All recovered insects were severely damaged after chipping logs and we could not determine recovery rates. Results of the two tests indicate that chipping wood from infested trees without incineration of the resulting chips provides a highly effective method for destroying wood inhabiting insect pests such as A. glabripennis. The elimination of incineration saves considerable resources while effectively eliminating risks associated with movements of wood containing living wood-boring insects.

Effects of red versus white wheat bran on rate of growth and feeding of some stored-product beetles

The red pigment in the seed coat of hard red spring wheat is produced by phenolics. Most of the wheats grown in western Canada are hard red spring varieties; however cultivars with a whiter seed coat are being developed for their better milling and baking attributes. Because phenolics serve to protect some plants against insect attack, we compared the susceptibility of white and red spring wheat to attack by stored-product insects. Tenebrio molitor (Tenebrionidae) larvae reared on red wheat bran gained less weight than larvae reared on white wheat bran but this insect has a long developmental period and does not attack sound grain. Tribolium castaneum (Tenebrionidae) pupal weights were not affected by the type of wheat milled products on which the larvae fed. A feeding bioassay showed that red bran did not act as an antifeedant for T. molitor, T. castaneum, or Sitophilus oryzae (Curculionidae). However, it acted as a feeding stimulant for Rhyzopertha dominica (Bostrichidae), which is related to wood-boring insects. It is unlikely that white wheat in storage would be more prone to insect damage than red wheat. Key words: Bran, colour, wheat, phenolics, stored-product insects

Three new ascomycetous yeasts from insect-associated arboreal habitats

A new species of Pichia and two new species of Candida are described and were determined to be genetically isolated from all other currently recognized ascomycetous yeasts from their sequence divergence in the species-variable D1/D2 domain of large subunit (26S) ribosomal DNA. The three species were primarily isolated from the frass of wood-boring insects living in pine and spruce trees. The new species and their type strains are the following: Pichia ramenticola NRRL YB-1985 (CBS 8699), mating type alpha (NRRL YB-3835, CBS 8700, mating type a), Candida piceae NRRL YB-2107 (CBS 8701), and Candida wyomingensis NRRL YB-2152 (CBS 8703). Pichia ramenticola and C. piceae assimilate methanol as a carbon source; P. ramenticola is the first known heterothallic ascomycetous yeast to utilize this compound.

Three new ascomycetous yeasts from insect-associated arboreal habitats

A new species of Pichia and two new species of Candida are described and were determined to be genetically isolated from all other currently recognized ascomycetous yeasts from their sequence divergence in the species-variable D1/D2 domain of large subunit (26S) ribosomal DNA. The three species were primarily isolated from the frass of wood-boring insects living in pine and spruce trees. The new species and their type strains are the following: Pichia ramenticola NRRL YB-1985 (CBS 8699), mating type alpha (NRRL YB-3835, CBS 8700, mating type a), Candida piceae NRRL YB-2107 (CBS 8701), and Candida wyomingensis NRRL YB-2152 (CBS 8703). Pichia ramenticola and C. piceae assimilate methanol as a carbon source; P. ramenticola is the first known heterothallic ascomycetous yeast to utilize this compound.Key words: Pichia, Candida, new yeast species, ribosomal DNA, molecular systematics, methanol utilization.

Pest status of American plum borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and fruit tree borer control with synthetic insecticides and entomopathogenic nematodes in New York State.

Surveys were conducted in 1994 and 1995 to determine the pest status of the American plum borer, Euzophera semifuneralis (Walker), in New York State stone fruit crops. These surveys indicate that American plum borer is the most important of the wood-boring insects infesting tart cherries and also is an important pest in peaches suffering from canker diseases. It is not prevalent in plums or in healthy peaches. Trials to control American plum borer were conducted in tart cherry and peach by using chlorpyrifos, esfenvalerate, and 2 commercially available formulations of entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema feltiae (Filipjev) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Poinar). Two applications of chlorpyrifos, timed at petal fall and at the beginning of the 2nd flight, effectively controlled the pest. One application of chlorpyrifos applied at petal fall did not provide effective season-long control, except where numbers were very low. Programs using 1 (petal fall) or 3 applications of esfenvalerate were ineffective. Control by either nematode formulation was insignificant.

Ecological relationships of a guild of tropical beetles breeding in Cecropia petioles in Costa Rica

Petioles are not usually thought of as a habitat for wood-boring insects. The large, woody leaf petioles of Neotropical Cecropia trees, however, have a diverse coleopterous fauna: 36 beetle species in three subfamilies of Cerambycidae and Curculionidae were recorded from Cecropia leafstalks in Costa Rica. A high percentage of the petioles were colonized by beetles in many patches, though fewer were colonized in sun-exposed sites. Community composition was dependent on forest type, petiole moisture and geographical location, but not on the species of Cecropia. Species of Scolytinae were most abundant though species of Zygopinae and Lamiinae were found regularly. The host-specific scolytine genus Scolytodes dominated in most localities, although species of Hypothenemus, Coccotrypes and Xylosandrus morigerus occurred frequently. Sympatric species of Scolytodes clearly used different parts of the petioles. Brood sizes of scolytine beetles were extremely low, ranging from two to ten offspring on average. However, mortality due to parasitoid wasps or predators was low, and since fresh leaves fall close to the previously fallen ones, mortality due to dispersal may also be low. Thus, large beetle populations can exist despite extremely low brood sizes.

Primary Herbivory by Wood‐Boring Insects along an Architectural Gradient of Rhizophora mangle

ABSTRACTWe investigated the distribution of primary xylovores in Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove) first‐order branches, i.e., “twigs”, along an architectural gradient on Belizean mangrove cays. Greater structural diversity in R. mangle architecture, xylovore availability, occurrence of natural enemies, and habitat do not result in variable xylovore species richness. Despite large differences in architectural complexity, tall, fringe, dwarf, and sapling trees host the same set of primary wig borers. However, tall trees support greater diversity and abundance of twig inquilines than other tree forms. Primary twig borers have a key role in structuring these mangrove communities because their galleries and pupal chambers provide habitats for numerous species of secondary xylovores and inquilines. We also measured the amount of leaf area removed from R. mangle's canopy by wood‐ and leaf‐feeding herbivores. Vigorously growing tall and sapling trees sustain greater losses because of twig borers than dwarf trees. However, xylovory in fringe trees was not different from any of the other categories. Cumulative herbivory was greatest in the tall trees. In most cases, leaf‐area loss as an indirect or collateral result of primary xylovory equaled or exceeded leaf‐area loss as a direct result of folivory.

いかにして熱帯林の林冠部での甲虫類の活動を探るか 半島マレーシア・パソーでの試み

Though pollinating and wood boring insects play important roles in regeneration and decomposition processes in tropical rain forests, many such insects inhabit the forest canopy. Many methods such as chemical fogging, climbing techniques and large towers or cranes have been used to study canopy insects. A giant balloon air ship to bring researchers on a flexible raft up to the forest canopy was developed by Halle. However, each method has disadvantages. Tree climbing methods are dangerous and require climbing skills. Building a tower or crane in a tropical forest is costly, disturbs the forest ecosystem and limits the research area. Chemical fogging is inadequate for determining the vertical distribution of insects and also disturbs the natural environment. Halle’s air ship system is expensive and requires a large number of staff. Therefore an inexpensive and movable balloon system in combination with attractant traps was developed and the effectiveness of the system was examined in a lowland tropical rain forest canopy in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. The balloons, 2.5 m in diameter, were filled with helium gas for levitation and moored in different directions by three pieces of thin rope. Traps with benzyl acetate and ethanol used as attractants for the pollinators and wood borers respectively were suspended from the balloon at different heights. The balloon system remained effective throughout the ten days that it was in use. The traps yielded beetles from thirteen families, but the dominant flower visiting genera attracted to benzyl acetate were Dasyvalgus, Mecinonota (Scarabaeidae) and Endaeus (Curculionidae), while the dominant wood borer attracted to ethanol was Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Scolytidae). A much larger number of individuals were trapped at 15 m ht. than at 1.5 and 7 m ht., particularly in Dasyvalgus sp.l. The trapping results show that the balloon system can be used for studying canopy insects, especially coleopteran pollinators, and their vertical distribution on a spatial and temporal scale. The vertical distribution pattern obtained by trapping

Biology ofAncistrocerus gazella(Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Eumenidae) in New Zealand

Ancistrocerus gazella(Panzer, 1798) is common in Central Otago, New Zealand. Details are provided of its typically tubular, generally multicelled nests in hollow stems, artificial trap nests, abandoned wood-boring insect galleries, cracks and holes in stone walls and old nail and bolt holes in cement, concrete and wood. After an egg is suspended by a slender thread from the roof of the cell near its inner end, 2-19 (mode =8) lightly paralysed lepidopterous larvae are placed in the cell. The cell is then sealed with a plug of moulded mud. Host species so far identified are Planotortrix octo Dugdale, Ctenopseustis obliquana (Walker), Epiphyas postvittana Walker. Eurythecta zelaea Meyrick, Hannologa amplexana (Zeller), H. sisyrana Meyrick, Harmologa sp., Crocidosema plebejana Zeller, Pyrgotis plagiatana (Walker) (all Tortricidae), an unidentified species of Gelechiidae, Epiphthora melanombra Meyrick (Gelechiidae) and Chloroclystis filata Guenee (Geometridae).

Predictable effects of agricultural development on the long-term availability of hollows for animals: observations from the Western Australian wheatbelt

Australia lacks primary excavators of eucalypts (excluding wood-boring insects), and animals using hollows in trees for shelter or nesting are dependent on hollows created by termites (for processes of termite invasion of eucalypts, and hollow formation, see Mackowski 1984; Perry et al. 1985). The abundance of hollows of various sizes has been used to explain why Australia has the largest number of obligate hole-nesting birds, especially the parrots (Saunders et al. 1982). The importance of tree hollows to many small mammals is also well documented (e.g., Mackowski 1984; Dickman 1991). Once the hollowed tree has fallen, it represents an important shelter and bolt hole site for small mammals (e.g., Friend 1990; Abensperg-Traun 1991; Dickman 1991). Logs also provide many invertebrates (e.g., cockroaches, beetles, spiders, isopods) and lizards with shelter, breeding and feeding sites. However, the importance of this habitat for these species has not been documented.

Ultrasonic Acoustical Emissions from Sapwood of Eastern White Pine, Northern Red Oak, Red Maple, and Paper Birch: Implications for Bark- and Wood-Feeding Insects

Ultrasonic acoustical emissions (AEs) were recorded from trunk samples of eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L., northern red oak, Quercus rubra L., paper birch, Betula papyrifera Marsh., and red maple, Acer rubrum L., that were cut in winter (February) and allowed to dry indoors. Emission rates were determined for waxed and unwaxed samples at weekly intervals throughout the drying period. Waveform parameters determined for each AE were duration, counts (oscillations above threshold), rise time, amplitude, energy, and average frequency (counts/duration). For all tree species, AE rates from unwaxed samples first increased and then decreased during drying, and they were several times greater than rates for waxed samples. For white pine, mean duration, counts, rise time, amplitude, and energy decreased over time while average frequency increased. Such patterns were often lacking among the three hardwood species. Average waveform parameters differed among species; AEs from white pine were strongest while those from red oak were weakest. Implications for bark- and wood-boring insects are discussed.

The ecological niche of an extinct group of mammals, the early Tertiary apatemyids

Apatemyids are highly specialized eutherian mammals from the Paleogene of North America and Europe. They are known almost exclusively from their dentition1–3. Only two skulls have ever been described, and the postcranial skeleton has remained a complete mystery. Reconstructions of apatemyid adaptations for a specific locomotion or diet had to be speculative, even when some similarities to the dentition of the lemurif orm primate Daubentonia and the marsupial Dactylopsila were noticed1,4,5. Now, three nearly complete skeletons are available, and they show an extreme elongation of selected fingers. Thus, apatemyids are a third group of mammals (with Dactylopsila and Daubentonia6) convergently specialized for feeding on wood-boring insects.

Development of contingency plans for use against exotic pests and diseases of trees and timber

Summary Factors which may influence the early detection and identification of exotic insect pests of trees and timber in Australia are discussed, with examples from Queensland. Sixty-seven species of wood-boring insects are listed which were intercepted at the Port of Brisbane or detected subsequent to entry during the period 1977 to 1985. The modes of entry and countries of origin of these insects (grouped by families) are presented. Avenues for improving the efficacy of present detection and identification approaches are suggested. The application of stringent quarantine measures at ports of entry is still considered to be our best means of preventing problems with exotic pests in forests and in timber.

Dissection of the Species-Area Relationship Among Wood-Boring Insects and Their Host Plants

The species-area relationship between wood-boring insects and the geographic range of their host plants is derived from the tendency for wide-ranging plants to be a part of more wood-boring insect communities than plants with smaller geographic ranges. In contrast to the expectation of the area-per se hypothesis, plants in a given forest that have large geographic ranges do not show richer wood-boring insect faunas than co-occurring plants with small ranges. The passive-sampling hypothesis can also be excluded because sampling differences do not account for the pattern. Only the habitat-heterogeneity explanation for the species-area relationship is consistent with the data and analyses presented.

Nematode Control of Silverleaf Nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium); a Biological Control Pilot Project

The use of nematodes as biological control agents has been met with skepticism, partly due to the newness of the approach and also to the potential difficulties of using a parasitic worm as a control organism. Most of the attention directed towards nematodes as biological control agents has been focused on several species that act as insect parasites. Considerable headway has been achieved with several of these parasites, especially with those parasitic on wood-boring insect larvae. The insect gallery of wood-boring larvae provides an optimum microclimate for the nematode to survive and seek out its larval insect host. A system where this strategy has proved successful involves the use of the insect parasitic nematodeNeoaplectana carpocapsaeWeiser as a biological control agent for carpenterworms (Prionoxystus robinaePeck) in fig (Ficus cariaL.) orchards in California (6). Similar systems are being developed both here and abroad with the same nematode or a closely related genus or species. Many of these systems show promise (5).

Indoor air pollution from pesticides used in wood remedial treatments

This paper reports air concentrations of gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (gamma-HCH), dieldrin and pentachlorophenol (PCP) in dwellings that have been given commercial remedial treatments to combat wood boring insects or dry rot. There are no established safe limits for these chemicals in the air of dwellings but one possible approach is to use Acceptable Daily Intake values, together with assumptions about inhalation rate and chemical retention, to derive ‘acceptable air concentrations’ (AAC). When this is done with the assumption that inhalation is the sole route of exposure, some of the measured air concentrations of dieldrin are found to be in excess of the AAC several years after treatment; in contrast, results for gamma-HCH and PCP are below AACs except for a period of a few weeks soon after treatment. Results of experiments on food contamination via the vapour phase and surface deposits left on wood after treatment are also reported. Estimates of air concentrations of polychlorodibenzo- p-dioxins (PCDDs) in dwellings are given based on results of laboratory experiments.

The insect infestation of the wood

The waterlogged wood from Wotter Common was examined for signs of possible insect attack. The wood from over forty samples ranged from artifacts (including the possible ard) to small branches and twigs. Probable insect attack was identified from channels visible in cross section (apparently representing galleries excavated by the larvae of wood boring insects) and holes on the surface which resemble the flight holes of the adults. In many cases the soft waterlogged wood showed signs of penetration by plant roots which produce similar channelling to insect boring. It was not always possible to identify the original cause, but plant roots had occasionally survived in the channels and were also suggested were groups ran in parallel across the rays.

Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides as replacements for chlorinated hydrocarbons for the control of wood-boring insects

The need for effective contact insecticides to replace γ-HCH and dieldrin is discussed. Four synthetic pyrethroids, permethrin, cypermethrin, decamethrin and fenvalerate were evaluated for control of the house longhorn beetle,Hylotrupes bajulus and the common furniture beetleAnobium punctatum. Permethrin was also tested againssLyctus brunneus and the termiteReticulitermes santonensis. Initial toxic effectiveness of all 4 pyrethroids was similar to or in the case of decamethrin, markedly better than γ-HCH and with the exception of fenvalerate their persistence in wood was superior to γ-HCH. They offer hopeful potential replacements for chlorinated hydrocarbons but further evaluation is necessary.