High levels of oak mortality associated with an unprecedented outbreak of red oak borer, Enaphalodes rufulus (Haldeman), requires a sampling method to estimate red oak borer populations within their host trees (Quercus spp.). Infested trees were felled and returned in 0.5 m sections to the laboratory for intensive sampling. Population densities were determined for different life stages of current and preceding red oak borer generations. Analysis of the distribution of these densities in entire trees was used to determine the minimum number of samples needed to accurately estimate red oak borer densities within a tree. Further analysis of complete and partial tree dissections is being used to develop an efficient method of classifying within-tree population levels of red oak borer without employing destructive sampling techniques. This sampling method will employ quick visual descriptions of red oak borer emergence damage and crown dieback on standing trees. This information will then be correlated with actual within-tree red oak borer populations and used to estimate area-wide population levels.
Species 1: Coleoptera Cerambycidae Enaphalodes rufulus (red oak borer)
Keywords: oak, densities
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