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Types of frass produced by the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus during gallery construction, and host suitability of five tree species for the beetle

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Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

We studied the biology of the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus in the logs of five tree species to determine: (1) the relationship between the amount of frass produced by beetles and tunnel length, (2) the relationship between frass shape and the morphological characteristics of P. quercivorus mouthparts, and (3) the suitability of five tree species for P. quercivorus reproduction. Five logs each from healthy Quercus crispula, Q. serrata, Castanea crenata, Sorbus japonica, and Cryptomeria japonica trees were used in this experiment. The results showed that there was a linear relationship between the amount of frass and tunnel length. Whenever powdery frass was produced, larvae were found in the gallery in the log, while fibrous frass was present only in galleries that contained just adults. The mouthparts of adults were completely sclerotized, which likely accounts for the fibrous frass production. Host preference of P. quercivorus was examined at two stages using five tree species. The first stage is digging initiation, which concerns male preference for digging a tunnel. More holes were made by males on S. japonica and Q. serrata logs, while fewer holes were made on C. japonica logs. The second stage is characterized by female orientation, mating, and progeny development. Platypus quercivorus could complete its lifecycle only in the two Quercus spp.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Jack Sutherland for his comments and suggestions on this paper, and Drs. Yamasaki and Takeuchi for their help in collecting samples and in laboratory work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Environmental Mycoscience, Division of Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Hagus Tarno, Hongye Qi, Rikiya Endoh & Kazuyoshi Futai

  2. Kyoto Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Center, 9 Wakunari, Amarube-cho, Kameoka, Kyoto, 621-0806, Japan

    Masahide Kobayashi

  3. Laboratory of Entomology, Kyushu Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 4-11-16 Kurokami, Kumamoto, 860-0862, Japan

    Hideaki Goto

  4. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, Malang, Jawa Timur, 65145, Indonesia

    Hagus Tarno

  5. Microbe Division/Japan Collection of Microorganisms, RIKEN BioResource Center, Wako, Saitama, 351‐0198, Japan

    Rikiya Endoh

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  1. Hagus Tarno
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  2. Hongye Qi
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  3. Rikiya Endoh
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  4. Masahide Kobayashi
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  5. Hideaki Goto
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  6. Kazuyoshi Futai
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Correspondence to Hagus Tarno.

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Tarno, H., Qi, H., Endoh, R. et al. Types of frass produced by the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus during gallery construction, and host suitability of five tree species for the beetle. J For Res 16, 68–75 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-010-0211-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-010-0211-z

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