Dendroctonus rufipennis

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Spruce beetle
Dendroctonus micans beetles.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Dendroctonus
Species:
D. rufipennis
Binomial name
Dendroctonus rufipennis

Dendroctonus rufipennis, the spruce beetle, is a species of bark beetle native to British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Northern Manitoba, the Yukon, Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Maine. They are known to destroy forests of spruce trees [1] including Engelmann, White, [2] Sitka, and Colorado blue spruce. [3] Adults average 4 to 7 mm in length. [4]

Contents

Life cycle

The spruce beetle Dendroctonus rufipennis, about 6 mm long, is one of the larger bark beetles found in spruce. [5] White spruce and Engelmann spruce are the principal hosts. [6] The beetles are attracted strongly to blowdowns, cull logs, and freshly-cut logs. Outbreaks of the spruce beetle, a transcontinental North American species, have been devastating to white and Engelmann spruces throughout western North America, from Arizona to Alaska, while smaller outbreaks have occurred in Alberta and Saskatchewan. [7] The spruce beetle is the most serious pest of mature and overmature interior spruce in British Columbia; [8] small-diameter, rapidly growing trees were least susceptible to attack or death from spruce beetle, and the greater susceptibility of large-diameter, slowly-growing trees was more closely related to recent radial growth than to diameter. [9] Measures that maintain radial growth rates offer the most likely defence. [10] [11] [12]

The initial attack in the lower trunk is indicated by the red boring dust in the bark crevices and by pitch tubes, especially when weakened or recently dead trees are attacked. Overwintering adults construct egg tunnels for brood 1 in June, and a second set of tunnels in late July for brood 2. Some members of brood 1 emerge as adults in late July and construct additional tunnels, while others overwinter as mature larvae and emerge as adults in July, along with another segment of the population that has overwintered as early larvae. A smaller bark beetle often found in spruce is the foureyed spruce bark beetle Polygraphus rufipennis .

The insect has a 1-, 2-, or 3-year life cycle, with 2-year being the most common, in which the flight and attack period starts in June or soon after most of the snow around the trees has melted. About 6 galleries per 929 cm2, each about 12.5 cm long and parallel with the grain of the wood, are made in the inner bark, and 3 to 4 groups of eggs are laid along the sides of the galleries, about 100 eggs per gallery. Eggs hatch in 3 to 4 weeks. Larvae vary in size from about one-quarter to fully grown by the onset of the dormant season. They resume development the following June, pupate during the summer, and transform to the adult stage in later summer or early fall. The adults generally emerge from the trees, fall or crawl to the ground, and re-enter the same tree to hibernate, often clumping together under the bark. They emerge the following spring and fly to green trees, blowdowns, cull logs, or stumps to start another generation. The beetle may have a 1-year cycle at lower elevations, on warmer sites, or during an abnormally warm year, reaching the adult stage before the onset of winter. The 3-year cycle occurs at high elevations, on cold sites, or during unseasonably cold years.

Fungi such as Leptographium abietinum may help beetles to overcome the defences of weakened trees during mass attack. [13] Fungi was isolated from Dendroctonus rufipennis and Polygraphus rufipennis and from discoloured wood around their galleries in white spruce in Canada. Leptographium abietinum was the most commonly isolated blue stain fungus for both beetle species. Inoculation of 5 species of fungi commonly isolated from both beetles on white spruce seedlings resulted in 71% of the seedlings colonized by L. abietinum being killed quickly, but with no mortality of seedlings inoculated with other fungi.

Population increase

Spruce beetle pitch tubes on a tree in Tongass National Forest in Alaska Denv1S W0AE0sB-.jpg
Spruce beetle pitch tubes on a tree in Tongass National Forest in Alaska

The spruce beetle is one of many beetle species that have recently increased their breeding times due to global warming. Their spread has also been aided by loggers leaving stumps that the beetles can overwinter within. [14] Spruce beetle population has been correlated with drought conditions, this provides important information, as when periods of drought are predicted, population can be expected to increase. [15] This overall pattern of climate is more predictive, and less variable than simply tempurature. The overpopulation of beetles in some forests in Kenai, Alaska, has damaged several spruce species that are no longer able to dwell there. The spruce beetle destroyed 2,300,000 acres (9,300 km2) (2 billion board feet) of spruce forests in Alaska from 1992 to 1999 (about 30 million trees per year at the peak), and 122,000 acres (490 km2) of Utah forests in the 1990s (more than 3 million trees). Outbreaks from 1975 to 2000 were seen in Montana (loss of 25 million board feet), Idaho (loss of 31 million board feet), Arizona (loss of over 100 million board feet), and British Columbia (loss of 3 billion board feet). As of 2000, the beetle was responsible for the loss of about 400 million board feet annually. [16] Dendroctonus rufipennis is also a part of the ecosystem in Colorado. [3] [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spruce</span> Genus of evergreen, coniferous tree

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. Picea is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20 to 60 m tall when mature, and have whorled branches and conical form.

Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transplanting</span> Gardening technique

In agriculture and gardening, transplanting or replanting is the technique of moving a plant from one location to another. Most often this takes the form of starting a plant from seed in optimal conditions, such as in a greenhouse or protected nursery bed, then replanting it in another, usually outdoor, growing location. The agricultural machine that does this is called a transplanter. This is common in market gardening and truck farming, where setting out or planting out are synonymous with transplanting. In the horticulture of some ornamental plants, transplants are used infrequently and carefully because they carry with them a significant risk of killing the plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bark beetle</span> Subfamily of beetles

A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the term "bark beetle" refers to the fact that many species feed in the inner bark (phloem) layer of trees, the subfamily also has many species with other lifestyles, including some that bore into wood, feed in fruit and seeds, or tunnel into herbaceous plants. Well-known species are members of the type genus Scolytus, namely the European elm bark beetle S. multistriatus and the large elm bark beetle S. scolytus, which like the American elm bark beetle Hylurgopinus rufipes, transmit Dutch elm disease fungi (Ophiostoma). The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis, and their near relatives are major pests of conifer forests in North America. A similarly aggressive species in Europe is the spruce ips Ips typographus. A tiny bark beetle, the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei is a major pest on coffee plantations around the world.

<i>Picea glauca</i> Species of conifer

Picea glauca, the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. Picea glauca is native from central Alaska all through the east, across western and southern/central Canada to the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, and south to Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Upstate New York and Vermont, along with the mountainous and immediate coastal portions of New Hampshire and Maine, where temperatures are just barely cool and moist enough to support it. There is also an isolated population in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. It is also known as Canadian spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, Black Hills spruce, western white spruce, Alberta white spruce, and Porsild spruce.

<i>Picea engelmannii</i> Species of North American spruce tree

Picea engelmannii, with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-elevation mountain tree but also appears in watered canyons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue spruce</span> Species of tree

The blue spruce, also commonly known as green spruce, Colorado spruce, or Colorado blue spruce, is a species of spruce tree native to North America in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. It is noted for its blue-green colored needles, and has therefore been used as an ornamental tree in many places far beyond its native range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain pine beetle</span> Species of beetle

The mountain pine beetle is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures approximately 5 millimetres, about the size of a grain of rice.

<i>Thanasimus formicarius</i> Species of beetle

The ant beetle, also known as the European red-bellied clerid, is a medium size insect, rather soft-bodied, with strong mandibles that can tear between the hard sclerotized integument of bark beetles. Larvae and adults are common predators of bark beetles in Europe.

<i>Dendroctonus</i> Genus of beetles

Dendroctonus is a genus of bark beetles. It includes several species notorious for destroying trees in the forests of North America. The genus has a symbiotic relationship with many different yeasts, particularly those in the genera Candida and Pichia that aid in digestion and pheromone production.

Blue stain fungi is a vague term including various fungi that cause dark staining in sapwood. The staining is most often blue, but could also be grey or black. Because the grouping is based solely on symptomatics, it is not a monophyletic grouping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European spruce bark beetle</span> Species of beetle

The European spruce bark beetle, is a species of beetle in the weevil subfamily Scolytinae, the bark beetles, and is found from Europe to Asia Minor and some parts of Africa.

<i>Ips</i> (beetle) Genus of beetles

Ips is a genus of beetles in the family Curculionidae, the true weevils. They are bark beetles, members of the subfamily Scolytinae. Species are distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Some are known as introduced species in Australia and Africa. Many species are pests of forest trees, especially pines and spruces. They are known commonly as engraver beetles, ips engraver beetles, and pine engravers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spruce broom rust</span> Species of fungus

Spruce broom rust or yellow witches' broom rust is a fungal plant disease caused by the basidiomycete fungus known as Chrysomyxa arctostaphyli. It occurs exclusively in North America, with the most concentrated outbreaks occurring in northern Arizona and southern Colorado on blue and Engelmann spruce, as well as in Alaska on black and white spruce. This disease alternates its life cycle between two hosts, with the spruce serving as the primary host and bearberry serving as the secondary or alternate host. The name for the disease comes from the distinctive “witches broom”, commonly yellow in color, which forms on the spruce after young needles have been infected. Management must be carried out through physical or mechanical methods, such as the pruning of brooms or the removal of the secondary host from the area, because no chemical control measures have yet been determined to be economically effective. Generally, spruce broom rust is seen as a mostly cosmetic issue, and it is very rarely the direct cause of tree death; however, research has shown a reduction in overall productivity and health of infected trees, making it an important issue for logging and timber companies.

<i>Picea <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> lutzii</i> Species of conifer

Picea × lutzii is a hybrid spruce tree that is a natural cross between white spruce and Sitka spruce occurring where the ranges of the two species overlap in coastal south-central Alaska and coastal British Columbia. Its common name is Lutz spruce. Its morphology is intermediate between the two parent species, the maritime Sitka spruce and the white spruce of dryer climates further inland. In addition to the parent spruces it shares its ecosystem with Tsuga heterophylla and T. mertensiana. The tree was named for Harold John Lutz, a scientist who specialized in forest soils and worked briefly for the United States Forest Service in Alaska where he collected the material used to describe the hybrid. A Lutz spruce from Alaska's Chugach National Forest was selected in 2015 for the Capitol Christmas Tree. This is the first Capitol Tree that has come from the state of Alaska.

<i>Dendroctonus valens</i> Species of beetle

Dendroctonus valens, also known as the red turpentine beetle, is a species of bark beetle characterized by a dark-reddish brown hue. It is native to forests across North and Central America. In its adult form, these beetles range from six to ten millimeters in length. A notable characteristic about them is their use of acoustic signals and chemical cues when engaging in what is a very complex mating process.

<i>Dendroctonus micans</i> Species of beetle

Dendroctonus micans, the great spruce bark beetle, is a species of bark beetle native to the coniferous forests of Europe and Asia. The beetles burrow into the bark of spruce trees and lay eggs which develop into larvae that feed on the woody layers under the bark.

<i>Dendroctonus terebrans</i> Species of beetle

Dendroctonus terebrans, the black turpentine beetle, is a species of bark beetle native to the eastern United States. Its larvae tunnel under the bark of pine trees, weakening and sometimes killing the trees.

<i>Dendroctonus adjunctus</i> Species of beetle

Dendroctonus adjunctus, the roundheaded pine beetle, is a species of bark beetle in the family Curculionidae found in North America. A parasite, the roundheaded pine beetle feeds on and eventually kills pine trees of several species in Guatemala, Mexico, and the Southern United States.

Elatobium abietinum, commonly known as the spruce aphid or green spruce aphid, is a species of aphid in the subfamily Aphidinae that feeds on spruce, and occasionally fir. It is native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe and has spread to Western Europe, North America and elsewhere.

References

  1. ↑ Spruce beetle [ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=0758149 Spruce Beetle
  3. 1 2 "Mountain Pine Beetle". Archived from the original on 2001-03-10.
  4. ↑ Dendroctonus rufipennis (Scolytidae) – spruce beetle
  5. ↑ Rose, A.H.; Lindquist, O.H. 1985. Insects of eastern spruces, fir and, hemlock, revised edition. Gov’t Can., Can. For. Serv., Ottawa, For. Tech. Rep. 23. 159 p. (cited in Coates et al. 1994, cited orig ed 1977)
  6. ↑ Wygant, N.D.; Lejeune, R.R. 1967. Engelmann spruce beetle Dendroctonus obesus (Mann.) (= D. engelmanni Hopk.). p. 93–95 in Davidson, A.G.; Prentice, R.M. (Compilers and Eds.). Important forest insects and diseases of mutual concern to Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Can. Dep. For. Rural Devel., Ottawa ON, Pub. 1180.
  7. ↑ Ives, W.G.H.; Wong, H.R. 1988. Tree and shrub insects of the prairie provinces. Gov’t Can., Can. For. Serv., Edmonton AB, Inf. Rep. NOR-X-292. 327 p.[Coates et al. 1994]
  8. ↑ Cottrell, C.B. 1978. Spruce beetle in British Columbia. Environ. Can., Can. For. Serv., Victoria BC, For. Pest Leafl. 13. 4 p.
  9. ↑ Hard, J.S.; Werner, R.A.; Holsten, E.H. 1983. Susceptibility of white spruce to attack by spruce beetles during the early years of an outbreak in Alaska. Can. J. For. Res. 13(4):678–684. (Cited in Coates et al. 1994).
  10. ↑ Hard, J.S. 1985. Spruce beetles attack slowly growing spruce. For. Sci. 31(4):839–850. (Cited in Coates et al. 1994).
  11. ↑ Hard, J.S.; Holsten, E.H. 1985. Managing white and Lutz spruce stands in south-central Alaska for increased resistance to spruce beetle. USDA, For. Serv., Pacific NW For. Range Exp. Sta., Portland OR, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-188. 21 p.
  12. ↑ Safranyik, L. 1985. Infestation incidence and mortality in white spruce stands by Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in central British Columbia. J. Appl. Ent. 99(1):86–93. (Cited in Coates et al. 1994).
  13. ↑ Ohsawa, M.; Langor, D.; Hiratsuka, Y.; and Yamaoka, Y. 2000. Fungi associated with Dendroctonus rufipennis and Polygraphus rufipennis and white spruce inoculation tests. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 22:254–257.
  14. ↑ Nikiforuk, Andrew (2011). "The Alaska Storm". In Pulling, Barbara (ed.). Empire of the Beetle. Greystone Books. p. 20. ISBN   978-1553655107.
  15. ↑ Hart, SJ; Veblen, TT; Eisenhart, KS; Jarvis, D; Kulakowski, D (April 2014). "Drought induces spruce beetle ( Dendroctonus rufipennis ) outbreaks across northwestern Colorado". Ecology. 95 (4): 930–39. Bibcode:2014Ecol...95..930H. doi:10.1890/13-0230.1. ISSN   0012-9658. PMID   24933812.
  16. ↑ http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/sprucebeetle/sprucebeetle.htm Archived 2015-02-17 at the Wayback Machine USFS Spruce Beetle
  17. ↑ Dell, I; Davis, T (2019). "Effects of Site Thermal Variation and Physiography on Flight Synchrony and Phenology of the North American Spruce Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) and Associated Species in Colorado". Environmental Entomology. 48 (4): 998–1011. doi:10.1093/ee/nvz067. PMID   31145459.
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