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Vibrational Behavior in Bark Beetles: Applied Aspects

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Biotremology: Studying Vibrational Behavior

Part of the book series: Animal Signals and Communication ((ANISIGCOM,volume 6))

Abstract

Acoustic signals are used for intraspecific communication in bark beetles and a variety of stridulatory mechanisms have evolved within the subfamily Scolytinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Bark beetles use stridulatory signals for communication at the tree surface and within tunnels inside tree tissues. Bark beetles produce a variety of call types that are broadband with frequencies ranging from 1 to 80 kHz. Not only are airborne and substrate-borne vibrations available, but every stridulation event produces both airborne and substrate-borne vibrations via the same action of the animal. Vibrations appear to be used during species recognition, premating interactions, pair formation, mate selection, intraspecies aggression, territoriality, and predator deterrence. No sound receptors have been located for bark beetles; however, we propose potential locations in this chapter. We provide an overview of acoustic communication and its use by adult bark beetles, describe their stridulatory structures, interpret how vibrations move within tree materials and how this affects the beetles’ ecology and behavior, and present technical and applied applications of acoustic tools for bark beetle management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Richard W. Hofstetter

  2. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Nicholas Aflitto

  3. School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Carol L. Bedoya

  4. Urban Forestry Division, Washington, DC, USA

    Kasey Yturralde

  5. University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    David D. Dunn

Authors
  1. Richard W. Hofstetter
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  2. Nicholas Aflitto
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  3. Carol L. Bedoya
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  4. Kasey Yturralde
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  5. David D. Dunn
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Correspondence to Richard W. Hofstetter .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Science, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA

    Peggy S. M. Hill

  2. Institut für Tierphysiologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany

    Reinhard Lakes-Harlan

  3. Department of Sustainable Agro-ecosystems & Bioresources, Edmund Mach Foundation – Research and Innovation Centre, San Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy

    Valerio Mazzoni

  4. Departments of Physiological Science, Integrative Biology & Physiology, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Peter M. Narins

  5. Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Meta Virant-Doberlet

  6. Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Wessel

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Hofstetter, R.W., Aflitto, N., Bedoya, C.L., Yturralde, K., Dunn, D.D. (2019). Vibrational Behavior in Bark Beetles: Applied Aspects. In: Hill, P., Lakes-Harlan, R., Mazzoni, V., Narins, P., Virant-Doberlet, M., Wessel, A. (eds) Biotremology: Studying Vibrational Behavior . Animal Signals and Communication, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22293-2_21

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