Pine trees in the Great Lakes region support a multi-species guild of root colonizing beetles. These weevils and bark beetles partition the resource based on host physiological condition and morphology. Each responds to a common olfactory signal of terpenes plus ethanol, but every species shows a unique pattern based on ratios, chiralities, and gender responses. These belowground herbivores vector fungal pathogens into root tissue. Interactions between below- and above- ground processes lead to gap formation and plantation decline. These interactions are largely mediated by responses of stem-colonizing bark beetles to below-ground stresses. We are currently testing our model of interactions between below- and above- ground process, and the utility of a practical control method, by a series of manipulative experiments combining physical and semiochemical methods.
Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae Hylobius radicis (Pine root collar weevil)
Species 2: Coleoptera Scolytidae Hylastes porculus
Species 3: Coleoptera Scolytidae Dendroctonus valens (red turpentine beetle)
Keywords: root weevils, belowground herbivory
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