Spatial and Temporal Attack Dynamics of the MountainPine Beetle: Implications for Management

摘要: Colonization of a host tree by the mountain pine beetle, MPB (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, Coleoptera: Scolytidae), involves complex, synergistic interaction between host-produced chemicals and beetle-produced pheromones. This system chemical communication enables massive aggregation beetles on single resource, thereby ensuring death subsequent beetle population survival. Because is limited food breeding populations have evolved mechanism(s) for termination colonization at optimal densities, with concomitant shift attacks to nearby trees. Several hypothesis attempt explain this pheromone-mediated phenomena. In an effort more fully understand entire process, including switch among trees, we observed daily spatial temporal attack process (non-epidemic) attacking lodgepole (Pinus contorta Douglas var. latifolia Engelmann). Our results from preliminary study suggest that new before original focus colonized, verbenone, anti-aggregating pheromone, may be acting within rather than Results additional on-going studies are being used parameterization spatially explicit model dispersal. Alternative hypotheses management implications discussed.