Insects Emerging From Novel Species Of Host Trees Attacked By Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus Ponderosae Hopkins, 1902 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), In The University Of Idaho Arboretum

A naturally-occurring infestation of mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonur ponderosae Hopkins, 1902 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), in the Shattuck Arboretum on the campus of the University of Idaho, Moscow, was found to be attacking non-native conifers. The arboretum had experienced a prior infestation in similar tree species in the late 1960s (Fumiss & Schenk 1969). Infested trees were harvested, and an approximately 0.3-in section of each tree was cut from a height of 10 m on the bole and maintained under laboratory conditions. All insects that emerged from the bolts were collected and identified. In the current infestation, trees successfully attacked by mountain pine beetle included jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), Austrian pine (P. nigra L.), red pine (P. resinosa Sol. Ex Alton), pitch pine (P. rigida Mill.), eastern white pine (P. strobus L.), Scots pine (P. sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies H. Karst.) and white spruce (P. glauca (Moench) Voss). A total of 777 mountain pine beetle were captured as they emerged from the bolts, and emergence densities of the beetle were similar across tree species. Insects from three orders, 15 families and 27 species emerged from the bolts. Species richness of the emerged insect assemblages were similar across tree species. Shortleaf pine had the largest number of emerged species of insects captured, followed by white spruce and eastern white pine.