Distribution pattern of entry holes of the tree-killing bark beetle Polygraphus proximus

Takagi, Etsuro, Tokyo Metropolitan University, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4006-4853

Takei, Shin-ya, Tokyo Metropolitan University

Köbayashi, Kenta, Tokyo Metropolitan University

e_t@tmu.ac.jp

Published Feb 17, 2021 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7svh

Cite this dataset

Takagi, Etsuro; Takei, Shin-ya; Köbayashi, Kenta (2021). Distribution pattern of entry holes of the tree-killing bark beetle Polygraphus proximus [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7svh

Abstract

Bark beetles attack their hosts at uniform intervals to avoid intraspecific competition in the phloem. Bark texture and phloem thickness also affect bark beetle attacks, and the bark characteristics are not spatially homogeneous; therefore, the distribution patterns of entry holes can demonstrate an aggregated distribution. Polygraphus proximus Blandford (Coleoptera: Scolytinae) is a non-aggressive phloephagous bark beetle that feeds on Far Eastern firs. They have caused mass mortality in Russia and Japan. However, the distribution pattern of entry holes of P. proximus and spatial relationships with bark characteristics have not been studied. Thus, we investigated the distribution pattern of entry holes of P. proximus. The distribution of entry holes was significantly uniform in most cases. As the attack density increased, an aggregated distribution pattern within a short distance (< 4.0 cm) was observed. The rough bark had a significantly higher number of entry holes than the remaining bark. The distribution pattern of entry holes demonstrated a significantly aggregated spatial association with rough bark. Finally, rough bark around knots had significantly thicker phloem than the remaining barks. These suggest that P. proximus may preferentially attack rough bark to reproduce in the thicker phloem under a rough bark surface.

Methods

We cut down two A. veitchii trees at Yatsugatake Forest Station, Mountain Science Center, University of Tsukuba, in Minamisaku County, Nagano Prefecture, Japan on July 7, 2020, and immediately peeled the bark. We randomly selected 18 knots and measured the phloem thickness of rough bark around the knots and that of the remaining bark near the knots.

Funding

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Award: 19K15874