J Econ Entomol
February 2021
Whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis Engelm., is a subalpine tree endemic to western North America. This species provides multiple ecosystem services and is suffering widespread mortality from mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe twig beetle, Pityophthorus pulchellus tuberculatus Eichhoff, infests dead branches of pines in western United States and Canada, including lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta Douglas, in northern Idaho. Adult broods overwintered in their host and emerged and colonized new hosts in late April. Males initiated galleries and were joined by up to seven females, each of which constructed an egg gallery radiating from a central chamber.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe forests of the northern Rocky Mountains are hosts of nine species of Nearctic conifer-infesting bark beetles of the genus Scolytus Geoffroy. One of these, Scolytus piceae Swaine (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), infests spruces across the continent including Picea engelmannii Parry (Pinaceae) in Idaho. Mature larvae overwintered before transforming to adults, which infested new hosts in early June.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo develop safe and effective methods to protect whitebark pines, Pinus albicaulis Engelmann, and limber pines, Pinus flexilis James, from attack by mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), we compared verbenone and verbenone plus green leaf volatiles (GLVs) for prevention of beetle attack. We used two strategies: area-wide protection where semiochemical-releasing flakes are dispersed over the forest floor, and individual tree tests where flakes are applied to tree trunks. The area-wide bioassays were conducted by applying verbenone- and GLV-releasing flakes without stickers to the forest floor on 0.
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