Influence of light condition on the stand-level distribution and movement of the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus (Coleoptera: Platypodidae)

Abstract

Field surveys and laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of light condition on the distribution and movement of Platypus quercivorus adults at the stand level. Both male and female adults showed a positive phototaxis. In the field, beetles tended to move upward and were highly concentrated near the upper forest edge along a road, although many adults were thought to have emerged from the lower middle portion of the stand. The positive phototaxis of newly emerged beetles appeared to be one of the causes of these phenomena. The light condition and the directional movement of adults were important factors determining the spatial distribution pattern of P. quercivorus adults in a stand.