Insects Damaging Hoosier Hardwoods

Nicole VanDerLaan-Hannon and Matthew Ginzel Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center, Purdue University

Outline of Today’s Talk

• Peach bark beetle

• Granulate ambrosia beetle

• Powderpost beetles

Black Cherry • Found throughout the

northeastern United States, including the Central Hardwood Region

• Annually, over $9 billion is brought into Indiana’s economy from its forests – Approx. $1.4 billion in wages

• Sought after for veneer

Peach Bark Beetle (Phloeotribus liminaris)

• Common in eastern U.S.

• 1.5-2.2 mm long

• Dark-reddish brown

• Two generations/year

Life Cycle

Adults emerge in early spring

Females locate host and create

nuptial chambers under bark

Mating occurs in chambers

Oviposition occurs in egg

gallery

Larvae emerge and feed on

phloem

After pupation, adults emerge to

start the cycle over again

Objective

To test the hypothesis that host colonization in the peach bark beetle is chemically-mediated

Glass Tube Olfactometer

• Allowed to walk in tube for 10 minutes • Tube divided in five sections, 0-4 • Beetles enter at 0 • Odor source chamber connected at 4

Odor sources • Odor sources:

– Blank (control) – Bolt of cherry – Bolt infested with females – Bolt infested with males

• Size of Bolts:

– 90mm length – 20mm diameter

Male and Female responses to odor sources

* Denotes significant increase when compared to control by using Dunnett’s test.

Male and female responses to host volatiles

* P < 0.05 (one-way ANOVA; Dunnett’s test)

Objective

To test the hypothesis that osmotic stress influences the susceptibility of black cherry

to colonization by the peach bark beetle

Methods • Two year old black cherry saplings • Pruned to 1.2m in height

• Used polyethylene glycol (PEG) to osmotically

stress trees

Measuring Plant Moisture Stress • Measured plant moisture

stress weekly

• Covered two leaves from each tree at 10:30am

• Removed leaves from tree at 1pm

• Measured osmotic stress with Scholander pressure bomb

No-choice Experiment • 15 males & 15 females • Caged beetles on main stem of three trees in each of the

following stress categories as measured by osmotic potential (Ψp) :

Low : ≥ -0.6 Mpa Medium:< -0.6 to > -1.2 Mpa High: ≤ -1.2 Mpa

• Allowed beetles to colonize trees for two weeks • Accounted for beetles on cloth, bark and gum • Counted number of feeding depressions on each tree • Collected gum from each tree and weighed

Influence of osmotic stress on colonization behavior

P > 0.05 (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA) P > 0.05 (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA)

Influence of osmotic stress of gum production

P = 0.1 (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA)

Results

Osmotic stress does not significantly influence

susceptibility of saplings to colonization by the

peach bark beetle

Ambrosia Beetles

• Biology – Males flightless – Female mates with brothers or

sons

• Vector of two fungi – Fusarium and Ambrosiella sp.

• 200 host tree & shrub

species

Granulate Ambrosia Beetle

(Xylosandrus crassiusculus)

• Difficult to control because concealed within sapwood

• Toothpick-like structures • Feed on fungal mycelium • Vector of pathogenic fungi

Damage

Ethanol • General attractant for wood-boring

insects

• Used to monitor flight activity

• Synergizes activity of other semiochemicals

• Attractant for X. germanus and X. crassiusculus

Conophthorin • Bark volatile associated with deciduous trees • Repellent for bark beetles that attack on

conifers • Attractant for the black stem borer Verbenone • Anti-aggregation pheromone component of

several bark beetles that feed on conifers • Repellent for the black stem borer

Objective To test whether verbenone will act as a

repellent to X. crassiusculus and conophthorin will act as an attractant

To determine if ethanol will synergize attractivity

of conophthorin for X. crassiusculus

Experiment • June 15th to August 8th, 2011

• Location: Tippecanoe Co., IN

– Martell Forest – Purdue Wildlife Area

• 3 transects with 5 lures different

lures

• Inverted soda bottles coated with fluon

• Traps checked twice a week

Lures • Blank (control)

• Ethanol

– Release rate: 100ug/day

• Verbenone – Release rate: 50mg/day

• Conophthorin

– Release rate: 4mg/day

• Conophthorin + Ethanol (C+E)

Xylosandrus crassiusculus

Friedman's Q4,210=84.84, P< 0.0001

/trap

Summary

• X. crassiusculus was significantly attracted to the conophthorin with ethanol lure and was repelled by the verbenone lure

Powderpost Beetles

• Consist of three different families – Powderpost beetles (Lyctidae) – False powderpost beetles (Bostrichidae) – Deathwatch beetles (Anobiidae)

Damage • Capable of attacking a range of products

– Dried and cured lumber – Softwoods to hardwoods

• Insects cause structural damage and reduce quality of:

– Buildings, furniture, lumber, wooden instruments, flooring, etc.

• Millions of dollars are spent each year to control these insects

Lifecycle • Females lay eggs in or on dried

wood

• Larvae feed on wood and create tunnels along the grain

• Mass emergence by adults create “shot hole” appearance

• Several generations can reinfest same the piece of wood

True Powderpost Beetles (Lyctidae) • 1/32 to 1/8” in length • Various shades of brown to black • Key characteristic is the two-segmented antennal club • Head is not covered by prothorax • Larvae loosely fill galleries with very fine powder *indicates economically important beetles

Southern Lyctus Beetle* Velvety Powderpost

Beetle* Western Lyctus Beetle

Brown Lyctus Beetle European Lyctus Beetle

False Powderpost Beetle (Bostrichidae) • 1/32 to 3/8” in length • Body shape varies from elongate to round • Head is not visible from above, have humpbacked

appearance • Larvae tightly pack galleries with coarse boring dust *indicates economically important beetles

Leadcable Borer Black Polycan Scobicia bidentata

Red-shouldered Shothole Borer*

Deathwatch Beetles (Anobiidae) • 1/16 to 1/8” in length • Antennae have 11 segments • Head not visible from above • Body shape varies from elongate to round • Exit holes are larger that those of true powderpost beetles • Larval galleries filled with small pellets of sawdust and frass

*indicates economically important beetles

Deathwatch Beetle*

Furniture Beetle* Ernobius granulatus Eastern Deathwatch Beetle

Ptilinus ruficornis Priobium sericeum Xyletinus pelatus

Woodborer Confusion

• Termites – Do not have exit holes, irregular shaped

tunnels not filled with sawdust

• Longhorned beetles – Large tunnels, typically need moisture in

wood, exit holes are oval to round shaped

• Metallic wood-borers – Large tunnels, typically need moisture in

wood, exit holes are “D” shaped

Prevention and Control • Sanitation

– Hardwood debris such as dead branches, slab, and old lumber should be destroyed

– Paraffin wax, varnish, shellac and paint can be used as protectants; cover log piles with tarps to reduce colonization and kill preexisting brood

– Kiln drying or freezing

Prevention and Control • Chemical control

– A number of insecticides are labeled for surface treatment of bare, exposed wood

– Two borate formulations currently registered for residual surface treatment of wood

– Spraying or brushing these materials onto infested wood creates a barrier which kills adult beetles as they chew out of wood, and newly-hatched larvae attempting to bore into wood

Acknowledgements • Investigators

– Matthew Paschen – Gabriel Hughes – Gary Frazier

• Funding

– Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center