Premium
The effect of larval aggregation behaviour on larval growth of the spruce bark beetle Dendroctonus micans
Author(s) -
STORER ANDREW,
WAINHOUSE DAVID,
SPEIGHT MARTIN
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2311.1997.00036.x
Subject(s) - biology , brood , larva , bark beetle , bark (sound) , instar , host (biology) , pheromone , dendroctonus , pest analysis , zoology , ecology , botany
1. The great spruce bark beetle Dendroctonus micans is a primary pest of spruce in Europe. It is unusual among Eurasian scolytids in that apparently healthy trees are attacked by solitary adults, but larvae feed en masse , in response to a larval aggregation pheromone. 2. The effect of brood size on larval growth was determined in experiments on detached bark, logs and living trees. A positive relationship was found between brood size and larval growth in experiments started with either eggs or larvae up to fifth instar. The relationship appeared to be independent of the effects of both preformed and induced defences in bark. 3. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that larvae feeding in groups spend a greater proportion of time feeding. Addition of resin to egg chambers in detached bark pieces resulted in high mortality of first‐instar larvae. A possible role for larval aggregation in minimizing the effects of host defences is discussed.