1. Order Coleoptera Beetles

2. Beetle Collections

4. Beatle Collections

5. Coleoptera - Beetles Largest of the insect orders 40% of known species occur in coleoptera About 30,000 species US and Canada Sizes from < 1mm to 125 mm (about 5”)

6. Coleoptera - Beetles Many serious economic pests Habitats vary greatly Beetles are found in most all situations Subterranean, aquatic or semi-aquatic

7. Beetle Basics Beetles have chewing mouthparts for chewing wood or crushing seeds Beneficial varieties attack insect pests and others act as scavengers Scobicia declivis the lead-cable borer is capable of boring through the lead sheathing of telephone cable

8. Scobicia declivis

9. Beetle Basics Most beetles have 2 pairs of wings The front wings or Elytra are leathery or hard and brittle The hind wings are membranous and are folded under the elytra The hind wings are the wings used for flight

10. The Elytra

13. Feed the Beetle Feed different plant and animal materials Plant eaters, predators, scavengers, eat fungi or molds; very few are parasites Plant eaters – feed on foliage, fruits, nuts, flower, wood borers, some attack roots

14. Feed the Beetle Others eat stored plant and animal products, clothing, leather, various fabrics, and various other organic materials

15. Feed the Beetle Beetles undergo a complete metamorphosis There are several variations in the larval form Life cycles vary from 4 generations per year to one generation in several years

16. Feed the Beetle Most species – one generation per year They may overwinter in any life stage Larvae have 6 legs

17. Family Scarabaeidae Scarab Beetles

18. Family Scarabaeidae About 1,400 species in North America Vary greatly in shape, size and color Some incredible metallic shades Heavy-bodied Oval to elliptical in shape - convex Plusiotis chrysargyreae

19. Scarab Beetles Varied habits Feed on dung, carrion, decomposing plant materials Live in nests or burrows of vertebrates, or ant or termite colonies Giant Dung Beetle Dung Beetle Crossing

20. Scarab Beetles Feed on live plant materials – fruit, flowers, foliage, grasses Serious pests to turf, golf greens, ag. crops Larvae are ‘C’-shaped Larval form is damaging life stage ‘C’-Shaped Larvae

21. Scarabs Adult Japanese BeetleJapanese Beetle Larvae Popillia japonica Newman

22. Scarabs Fig Beetles Cotinis texana

23. Scarabs 10 Lined June Beetle Chafer Beetle Amphimallon solstitialis Polyphylla decemlineata

24. Family Scolytidae Bark Beetles

25. Family Scolytidae The three most important genera include: Dendroctonus, Ips and Scolytus Bark beetles – small, cylindrical beetles <8mm Usually brownish or black Itty-Bitty Beetles

26. Bark Beetles Bark beetles can be divided into two groups Bark beetles – feeds on inner bark and succulent wood Ambrosia beetles – feeds ambrosia – fungus they cultivate Ambrosia Fungus

27. Bark Beetles Ips species Beetle

28. Bark Beetles Lives within the bark, feeds at the surface of the wood on the phloem tissue “Engravers” – Ips and Scolytus spp. which cut deeply into the sapwood Scolytidae Galleries w/ an “Engraver’s” path in the center

29. Bark Beetles Bark beetles feed on dying trees Some species infest and kill living trees, particularly conifers These trees are typically under physical stress Trees Killed By Bark Beetles

30. Bark Beetles Three species of scolytid beetles merit the most economic importance: Dendroctonus Ips Scolytus

31. Dendroctonus Dendroctonus ponderosae

32. Ips Ips sexdentatus

33. Scolytus Scolytus ratzburgi

34. Bark Beetles Fungus is “blue-stain” or “brown-stain” Adults introduce fungi, larvae spread it Fungus clogs the water transport vessels Sap or pitch production is suppressed Blue-Stain Fungus

35. Bark Beetles Bark beetles can overwhelm a tree’s natural defenses by their sheer numbers Adults respond to a combination of odors emitted from the resin from the potential host tree and chemical signals (pheromones) from the first colonies The result – thousands of beetles may infest a tree simultaneously

36. Bark Beetles Species of bark beetles can either be monogamous or polygamous In monogamous species the female bores the initial hole in the tree The male clears the frass behind her The female lays her eggs in notches along the sides of the gallery

37. Bark Beetles The eggs hatch into ‘C’-shaped larvae The larvae begin boring at right angles to the gallery As the distance increases from the main gallery the “larval mines” become larger and begin to fan out The larvae pupate at the ends of the mines

38. Larvae Galleries

39. Bark Beetles The new adult beetles emerge through round holes bored through the bark After the brood emerges the tree appears to have been peppered with “shot” holes “Shot” Holes in Bark

40. Bark Beetle Impact Bark beetles have a greater impact on North American forests than any other insect Singularly responsible for the death of more than 4 billion board-feet of timber annually Over 90% of the insect caused mortality

41. Bark Beetle Impact 5 species of bark beetle responsible for most of the damage Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) Douglass Fir Beetle (D. pseudotsugae) Mountain Pine Beetle (D. ponderosae) Western Pine Beetle (D. brevicomis) Spruce Beetle (D. obesus)

42. The Evidence Recognized by fading foliage color Noticeable in groups or stands of trees Frass or hardened pitch-tubes on the bark Large amounts of woodpecker activity Bark beetles are host specific Galleries are characteristic to each species

43. Frass on Exposed Galleries

44. Infested Trees

45. Dutch Elm Disease Spread by the European Elm Bark Beetle (Scolytus multistriatus) Probably introduced into Europe from Asia around WWI Thought to have entered the United States in the 1920s It was first reported in Ohio in the 1930s It has since spread across most of North America The American elm has been almost completely eliminated from the urban landscape

46. Dutch Elm Disease

47. Ambrosia Beetles Feed in live or freshly killed trees The fungus they cultivate stains and reduces the value of wood Larvae and adults share galleries Adults care for larvae and feed them on the ambrosia fungus Adults move to new trees carrying conidia of fungus to infest new trees

48. Ambrosia Beetle Damage

49. Wood Staining