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The striped ambrosia beetles Trypodendron lineatum and T. domesticum are timber forest pests in the Palearctic region and North America. Because only a few pathogens are known for Trypodendron species, the aim of this work was to determine the spectrum of pathogen species of T. lineatum, T. laeve, and T. domesticum. Trypodendron species were collected in pheromone traps at nine localities in the Czech Republic, five localities in Poland, and one locality in Austria. In total, 2,439 T. lineatum, 171 T. domesticum, and 17 T. laeve beetles were dissected and examined. Infection was found in only two of the 17 specimens of T. laeve and in only two of the 171 specimens of T. domesticum; in all four cases, the parasites were nematodes. Parasitisation of T. lineatum by nematodes was found in T. lineatum at eight localities with a mean (± SE) parasitisation level of 8.1 ± 4.7%. A Chytridiopsis sp. was detected in cells of the midgut epithelium of one T. lineatum specimen, and Gregarina sp. was detected in the midgut lumen of two T. lineatum specimens; no other pathogens were found in T. lineatum. The low infection rates and the tendency for infection by nematodes can be explained by the monogamy of Trypodendron spp. and their feeding on fungi in short galleries that are not connected to the galleries of conspecifics.

Paternal care is uncommon in mammals where males are more often involved in sexual competition for females than in providing care for their own offspring. Howewer some species present greater form of patertal care than metabolic investment in sex cells, and most of the time, this phenomenon is associated with a monogamous mating system. The direct costs of paternal behaviour are relatively well documented in primates, despite little research has explored these effects in monogamous rodents and even less in some polygynous rodents. The relative rarity of monogamy and associated paternal care has been interpreted in light of the relationship between parental investment and sexual selection. The major drawback of such bias is that most current hypothesis on rodent paternal behaviour are based mostly on data optained from a few species from temperate regions, mainly cricetids and murids, performed in controlled environment and in special conditions. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)