skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Species, Flight, and Attack on Living Eastern Cottonwood Trees.

Journal Article · · Forest Entomology

ABSTRACT In spring 2002, ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) infested an intensively managed 22-ha tree plantation on the upper coastal plain of South Carolina. Nearly 3,500 scolytids representing 28 species were captured in ethanol-baited traps from 18 June 2002 to 18 April 2004. More than 88% of total captures were exotic species. Five species [Dryoxylon onoharaensum (Murayama), Euwallacea validus (Eichhoff), Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus (Zimmermann), Xyleborus atratus Eichhoff, and Xyleborus impressus Eichhoff]) were collected in South Carolina for the first time. Of four tree species in the plantation, eastern cottonwood, Populus deltoides Bartram, was the only one attacked, with nearly 40% of the trees sustaining ambrosia beetle damage. Clone ST66 sustained more damage than clone S7C15. ST66 trees receiving fertilization were attacked more frequently than trees receiving irrigation, irrigation_fertilization, or controls, although the number of S7C15 trees attacked did not differ among treatments. The study location is near major shipping ports; our results demonstrate the necessity for intensive monitoring programs to determine the arrival, spread, ecology, and impact of exotic scolytids.

Research Organization:
USDA Forest Service, Savannah River, New Ellenton, SC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE - Office of Environmental Management (EM)
DOE Contract Number:
AI09-00SR22188
OSTI ID:
861330
Report Number(s):
na; 05-22-P; TRN: US200721%%338
Journal Information:
Forest Entomology, Vol. 98, Issue 6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English