ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF REDBAY AMBROSIA BEETLE Xyleborus

102 Pages·2012·1.1 MB·English

ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF REDBAY AMBROSIA BEETLE (Xyleborus glabratus
EICHHOFF)

By

GURPREET SINGH BRAR

A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2012

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© 2012 Gurpreet Singh Brar

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To my Mom and Dad

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor Dr. Jorge E. Peña for
giving me the opportunity to study at the University of Florida. I could not have asked for
a more knowledgeable, supportive, or friendly co-advisor than Dr John L. Capinera. I
am also thankful to Dr. Jason A. Smith, whose understanding of forest pathology
seemed endless and his assistance always exceeded expectation. I would also like to
extend my sincere thanks to Dr Paul E. Kendra for his help and guidance in studies
related with beetle population dynamics. I will also like to thank Dr Jiri Hulcr for his
guidance with studies related with ambrosia beetles I would also like to thank Drs
Stephen Mclean and Jodi Mclean for their help and support throughout the course of my
research project. The help from Marc, Don and Tyler is acknowledged. I would like to
thank my friends Jugpreet, Jarman, Ravinder, Maninder, Avjinder, Harman and Mehul
who brought a lot of humor and normalcy to everyday life. And lastly, but far from least, I
would like to thank my parents Malkiat Kaur and S. Mukhtiar Singh and my fiancée
Kiran, sisters Mukhe and Simi and brother in laws Harry and Aman. I will also like to
thank my grandfather S. Bharath Singh and cousin Iqbal.
Their support has been unwavering, and it is a blessing to have such loving people
in my life.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................................................................. 4
LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... 7
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 8
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ 9
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................. 10
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 12
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................... 14
Bark Beetles .......................................................................................................... 14
Symbiotic Relationships Between Bark Beetles and Fungi. ................................... 16
Rearing of Xyleborus spp. in Artificial and Semi artificial Media. ............................ 18
Life History Studies of Xyleborus ferrugineus ........................................................ 19
Life Cycle of Xyleborus spp ................................................................................... 20
Field Ecological Studies......................................................................................... 21
Redbay Ambrosia Beetle (Xyleborus glabratus) .................................................... 21
Ecological and Economic Impact of the Disease ................................................... 23
Avocado ................................................................................................................ 23
3 LIFE CYCLE, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTURE OF XYLEBORUS
GLABRATUS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE: SCOLYTINAE) ...................... 24
Background ........................................................................................................... 25
Material and Methods ............................................................................................ 27
Beetle Source ................................................................................................. 27
Life Cycle and Development of X. glabratus .................................................... 28
Description of Life Stages ............................................................................... 29
Gallery Pattern ................................................................................................ 30
Xyleborus glabratus Culture on Swampbay Logs ............................................ 30
Statistical Analysis .......................................................................................... 31
Results .................................................................................................................. 31
Life Cycle and Development of X. glabratus .................................................... 31
Developmental Stages .................................................................................... 32
Gallery Pattern ................................................................................................ 32
Xyleborus glabratus Culture on Swampbay Log .............................................. 33
Discussion ............................................................................................................. 33
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4 TEMPERATURE- DEPENDENT DEVELOPMENT OF REDBAY AMBROSIA
BEETLE XYLEBORUS GLABRATUS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE:
SCOLYTINAE) ...................................................................................................... 50
Background ........................................................................................................... 50
Materials and Methods .......................................................................................... 53
Beetle Source ................................................................................................. 53
Rearing of Redbay Ambrosia Beetle for Developmental Stages ...................... 53
Development of Egg and Pupal stages at Constant Temperatures ................. 54
Life cycle and Development of Beetle in the Avocado Logs at Different
Temperatures............................................................................................... 54
Statistical Analysis ................................................................................................. 55
Results .................................................................................................................. 56
Egg Development ............................................................................................ 56
Pupal Development ......................................................................................... 56
Life Cycle and Development of Beetle at Constant Temperatures: .................. 57
Discussion ............................................................................................................. 58
5 EFFECT OF TRAP SIZE AND HEIGHT AND AGE OF LURE ON SAMPLING
OF XYLEBORUS GLABRATUS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE:
SCOLYTINAE), AND ITS FLIGHT PERIODICITY AND SEASONALITY ................ 72
Background ........................................................................................................... 73
Materials and Methods .......................................................................................... 75
Daylight Flight Periodicity ................................................................................ 75
Trap Height ..................................................................................................... 76
Trap Design .................................................................................................... 77
Seasonality ..................................................................................................... 78
Trap Color ....................................................................................................... 78
Manuka Lure Aging and Effectiveness of Aged Lures ..................................... 79
Statistical Analysis .......................................................................................... 79
Results .................................................................................................................. 80
Daylight Flight Periodicity ................................................................................ 80
Trap Height ..................................................................................................... 80
Trap Design .................................................................................................... 80
Seasonality ..................................................................................................... 81
Manuka Lure Aging ......................................................................................... 81
Trap Color ....................................................................................................... 81
Discussion ............................................................................................................. 82
LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 93
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ......................................................................................... 102

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LIST OF TABLES
Table page

3-1 Development of Xyleborus glabratus in the logs of different species under
controlled conditions for 40 days.. ..................................................................... 40
3-2 Head capsule widths of three instar classes of Xyleborus glabratus in
Redbay, Swampbay and Avocado. .................................................................... 41
4-1 Mean ± S.E of developmental periods of eggs and pupae at constant
temperatures. .................................................................................................... 62
4-2 Linear regression parameters of development rate of eggs and pupae of
Xyleborus glabratus . ......................................................................................... 63
4-3 Development of Xyleborus glabratus in the logs of avocado tree (Persea
americana Mill) at different temperatures. ......................................................... 64
4-4 Number of different developmental stages encountered during the
development of beetle in the avocado logs ........................................................ 65
5-1 Red, green, blue values (mean ± se) and trichromatic percentages from
areas of digital photos of colored traps . ............................................................ 86
5-2 Numbers of Xyleborus glabratus trapped in lindgren traps with different
numbers of funnels in alachua county, Florida................................................... 87
5-3 Numbers of Xyleborus glabratus trapped using manuka lures of different
ages. ................................................................................................................. 88

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure page

3-1 Development of Xyleborus glabratus in the logs of avocado (Persea
americana Mill).. ................................................................................................ 42
3-2 Development of Xyleborus glabratus in the logs of redbay (Persea borbonia
(L.) Spreng.). ..................................................................................................... 43
3-3 Development of Xyleborus glabratus in the logs of swampbay (Persea
palustris (Raf.) Sarg.).. ...................................................................................... 44
3-4 Frequency distribution of head capsule widths of Xyleborus glabratus larvae.... 45
3-5 Mean ± SE of emergence of Xyleborus. glabratus / log / month from
swampbay logs at 25±2°C .. .............................................................................. 46
3-6 Closeness of fit of the mean head capsule width to three instar model, using
linear progression model . ................................................................................. 47
3-7 A and B Gallery pattern of Xyleborus glabratus in the redbay trees ................... 48
3-8 Schematic diagram of Xyleborus glabratus collecting apparatus ....................... 49
4-1 Linear regression of the development rates of eggs of Xyleborus glabratus ...... 66
4-2 Linear regression of the development rates of pupae of Xyleborus glabratus .... 67
4-3 Mean ± SE of number of egg stages encountered in the logs of avocado logs
at constant temperatures. .................................................................................. 68
4-4 Mean ± SE of number of larval stages encountered in the logs of avocado
logs at constant temperatures ........................................................................... 69
4-5 Mean ± SE of number pupal stages encountered in the logs of avocado logs
at constant temperature .................................................................................... 70
4-6 Mean ± SE of teneral adults encountered in the logs of avocado logs at
constant temperatures ....................................................................................... 71
5-1 Numbers of Xyleborus glabratus (mean ± SE) trapped per trap per hour ......... 88
5-2 Numbers of Xyleborus glabratus (mean ± SE) trapped per trap per hour . ....... 89
5-3 Effect of height of the trap on numbers of Xyleborus glabratus trapped. ............ 91
5-4 Seasonality of Xyleborus glabratus in Florida.. .................................................. 92
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AC Acres
ACMF Austin Cary Memorial Forest
APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
DD Degree Days
DST Daylight saving time
H Hour
HCWMA Hatchet Creek Wildlife Management Area
NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service
OSBS Ordway-Swisher Biological Station
SAS Statistical Analysis System
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
Wk Week

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Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School
of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGY OF REDBAY AMBROSIA BEETLE (Xyleborus glabratus
EICHHOFF)
By
Gurpreet Singh Brar

December 2012

Chair: Jorge E. Peña
Major: Entomology and Nematology

The redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is a non-native species transmits the fungus Raffaelea
lauricola that causes laurel wilt disease in trees of the family Lauraceae. The life cycle
and development of X. glabratus were studied in logs of three hosts that it colonizes in
North America: avocado (Persea americana), redbay (Persea borbonia) and swampbay
(Persea palustris) at 25 ± 2°C. Similar developmental patterns were observed in the
three hosts. Teneral adults were first encountered on the 31st, 30th, and 26th day after
gallery initiation in these hosts, respectively. The life cycle appears to be overlapping.
Three larval instars were observed in all three hosts. Xyleborus glabratus was
successfully reared on soaked swampbay logs and about 2.8 times as many female
adults emerged from each log than were inoculated, with emergence continuing for
about 240 days and maximum emergence taking place between 120-150 days after
gallery initiation. Xyleborus glabratus successfully completed its life cycle at 24, 28,
32°C when development and life cycle were studied at temperatures ranging from 12-
36°C in avocado logs. Development of egg and pupal stages of X. glabratus were
studied at temperatures between 12-36°C. Developmental rates of the egg and pupal
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