The incidence of honeydew under pines and hardwoods located within 10 Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann infestations on the Talladega National Forest in Alabama was examined during June-September 2000. Within each infestation, honeydew was sampled under 6 uninfested pines, 3 infested pines and 3 hardwood trees. Once per week for 6 weeks, 100 cm2 filter paper disks were placed under the trees for 24 h, then collected and number of honeydew droplets was counted. There was significantly more honeydew beneath hardwood trees than under pines. There was no difference between hardwood species in the number of honeydew droplets under the 12 hardwood species tested. Although the number of honeydew droplets did not show a consistent overall change between months, there were significant changes between sampling dates, depending on the site. These changes were most likely due to changes in mean weekly temperature and rainfall, as both were negatively correlated with number of honeydew droplets.
Species 1: Coleoptera Scolytidae Dendroctonus frontalis (southern pine beetle)
Keywords: parasitoid foraging, biological control
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