Interaction between the bluestain fungal associates of mountain pine, and pine engraver beetles, (<i>Dendroctonus ponderosae</i> and <i>Ips pini</i>, Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and their effects on the beetles

Authors

  • R. J. Nevill Canadian Forest Service Pacific Forestry Centre 506 W. Burnside Rd. Victoria, B.C. V8Z 1M5
  • L. Safranyik Canadian Forest Service Pacific Forestry Centre 506 W. Burnside Rd. Victoria, B.C. V8Z 1M5

Abstract

We investigated the potential antagonism between the fungal associates of the pine engraver and mountain pine beetles. We measured and compared their rates of growth in bolts of lodgepole pine and in living trees: Ophiostoma ips from Ips pini against 0. clavigerum from Dendroctonus ponderosae. We measured the length of lesions shown by discolored xylem, but we found both fungi outside of visibly stained areas, which showed that mere staining is not a reliable indicator of fungal growth. There were no significant differences in brood development or survival between the two beetle spp., when bolts were inoculated with either fungal associate.

Key words: Colcoptera:Scolytidae; bluestain fungi; Pinus contorta; Princeton; Williams Lake, B.C.

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