Bark Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Community Structure in Northeastern and Central Minnesota

Abstract

Large-scale surveys of forest insects provide two distinct benefits: the detection of invasive and exotic species that cause millions of dollars of damage annually to forest and ornamental industries, and the addition of a wealth of species distribution and diversity information to the scientific community. We intensively surveyed the Northeast and East-central regions of Minnesota from 2006-2008 for invasive/exotic and native Scolytinae using Lindgren funnel traps baited with one of four lures (alpha/beta-pinene, ultra-high-release ethanol {[}EtOH], EtOH+alpha-pinene, and Ips 3-part). We captured 16,841 scolytines (representing 25 genera) of which over 40\% were Ips pini (Say) and Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff). We found two exotic Scolytinae, Scolytus multistriatus (Marsham) and Scolytus schevyrewi Semenov, both of which had previously been recorded in Minnesota. Two native species, Conophthorus coniperda (Schwarz) and Crypturgus pusillus (Gyllenhal), were reported for the first time in Minnesota. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and analysis of similarities indicate that lure types capture different Scolytinae communities, while year, weather pattern and region factors were not significant. We also report the seasonal phenology of the seven most abundantly captured species; Dendroctonus valens LeConte, Hylastes porculus Erichson, Hylurgops rugipennis pinifex (Fitch), I. grandicollis, I. pini, Ortho-tomicus caelatus (Eichhoff) and Pityophthorus spp. Eichhoff.