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The pine engraver, Ips pini(Say), breeds in the phloem tissue of dead, dying, or downed pines, occasionally attacking standing live trees when populations build up to significant levels following logging activities or infestations by the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosaeHopkins (Furniss and Carolin 1980). In British Columbia, I. piniuses ipsdienol as an aggregation pheromone to facilitate large aggregations of mated beetles and breeding galleries (Miller et al.1996). The aggregation pheromones, exo-brevicomin and cis- and trans-verbenol, used by D. ponderosae(Borden et al.1987; Miller and Lafontaine 1991) interrupt attraction of I. pinito ipsdienol (Miller 1991). Another semiochemical, frontalin, is used by D. ponderosaeas a multifunctional pheromone (Borden et al.1987), enhancing attraction of beetles at low release rates and interrupting attraction at high release rates. I tested the effect of frontalin, over a broad range of release rates, on the attraction of I. pinito ipsdienol-baited traps.

The recent introduction of Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) into North America has raised interest in native siricids and their parasitoids to better understand the potential impact of S. noctilio. In the southeastern United States, we assessed various techniques to capture native siricids and their parasitoids using traps, lures, and trap trees. During 2009-2011, in total, 2,434 wasps were caught including Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura), Sirex nigricornis (F.), Tremex columba (L.), and Urocerus cressoni (Norton) (Siricidae), and Ibalia leucospoides ensiger Norton (Hymenoptera: Ibaliidae). Traps and trap trees, respectively, captured 14 and 86% of total siricids and hymenopteran parasitoids. Majority of siricids (76%) were caught in Louisiana, where 486 I. l. ensiger (28% parasitism rate) were also reared from trap trees. The Sirex lure alone and Sirex lure with ethanol captured two to five times greater numbers of siricids than unbaited traps. Trap types had no effect on catches of siricids. Fewer siricids were caught in traps baited with ethanol alone than in those baited with other lures in Georgia. We caught three to four times greater numbers of S. nigricornis in traps with fresh pine billets (with foliage) as a lure than traps baited with Sirex lure in Louisiana. More S. nigricornis and I. l. ensiger emerged from cut and felled trap trees created in early rather than late November; these trees also had 14 times greater emergence than those treated with Dicamba. Our results indicate that use of host material and timing may be important for monitoring populations and communities of siricids and their parasitoid species in southern pine forests.

In 2007–2008, we examined the flight responses of Monochamus titillator (F.) complex [M. titillator, Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier), and any possible hybrids], Monochamus scutellatus (Say), Monochamus clamator (LeConte), Monochamus obtusus Casey, and Monochamus mutator LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to multiple-funnel traps baited with and without host volatiles and bark beetle pheromones. Experiments were conducted in mature pine (Pinus) stands in Alberta (Canada), and Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin (United States). At each location, traps were deployed in 10 replicate blocks of four traps per block. The trap treatments were: 1) blank control; 2) ipsenol and ipsdienol; 3) ethanol and α-pinene; and 4) a quaternary blend of ipsenol, ipsdienol, ethanol, and α-pinene. All five species or species complex of Monochamus preferred traps baited with the quaternary blend over all other treatments. The consistency of these results across such a large geographic area suggests that similar selection pressures may be acting on Monochamus spp. in pine forests, regardless of variation in stand composition and climatic conditions. Our results suggest that multiple-funnel traps baited with the quaternary blend of ipsenol, ipsdienol, ethanol, and α-pinene may be highly effective for monitoring various Monochamus spp. in pine forests of North America, and may have utility in trapping and detection programs in North America and overseas.

We conducted two field trapping experiments with multiple-funnel traps in 2008 and one experiment in 2010 to determine the effects of lure placement (inside or outside funnels) on catches of saproxylic species of beetles (Coleoptera). The experiments were conducted in southern pine (Pinus spp.) stands in central Georgia using combinations of ethanol, α-pinene, ipsenol, and ipsdienol lures. We report on a modification to the multiple-funnel trap that allows placement of large lures inside the confines of the funnels with minimal blockage. In general, catches of five species of common longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), two species of regeneration weevils (Curculionidae), four species of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), and seven species of beetle predators and ectoparasites (Cleridae, Histeridae, Tenebrionidae, Trogossitidae, and Zopheridae) were higher in funnel traps with lures attached inside the funnels than in those with lures attached outside of the funnels. Catches of the remaining species were unaffected by lure placement. In no instance were catches of any species lower in funnel traps with lures attached inside the funnels than in those with lures attached outside of the funnels. For most species, catches in modified funnel traps with ethanol, α-pinene, ipsenol, and ipsdienol lures attached inside funnels were comparable with those in cross-vane panel traps.

Stressed or damaged pine (Pinus sp.) trees in the southeastern United States are often colonized simultaneously by three southern Ips species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae): small southern pine engraver, Ips avulsus (Eichhoff); sixspined ips, Ips calligraphus (Germar); and eastern fivespined ips, Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff). All three species mediate colonization of host material with volatile pheromones. All of the southern Ips produce cis-verbenol, and either ipsdienol or ipsenol, and electrophysiological studies have demonstrated that all three southern Ips are able to detect all three compounds. This study examined the role of ipsdienol, ipsenol, and cis-verbenol in the chemical ecology of the southern Ips in Georgia and Louisiana. The most attractive blends of pheromones, with the fewest number of components, were ipsdienol plus ipsenol for I. avulsus, cis-verbenol plus ipsdienol for I. calligraphus, and either cis-verbenol plus ipsenol or ipsdienol plus ipsenol for I. grandicollis. Cross-attraction of I. grandicollis to the pheromone blend most attractive to I. avulsus was observed. Although the presence of heterospecific pheromone reduced the catches of all three species (i.e., the tertiary blend captured fewer beetles than the most attractive binary blends) in both states (significantly in two cases), high numbers of all three species were still captured in traps baited with all three compounds. These results suggest that the pheromones cis-verbenol, ipsdienol, and ipsenol can be combined for monitoring all three species of the southern Ips simultaneously.

In 2004, we evaluated the relative performance of 8-unit Lindgren multiple-funnel (funnel), Intercept panel (panel), and Colossus pipe (pipe) traps, baited with ethanol and α-pinene lures, in catching saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in pine stands in northern Florida and western South Carolina. Panel traps were as good as, if not better than, funnel and pipe traps for catching Cerambycidae. In particular, more Monochamus titillator (F.) were captured in panel traps than in pipe and funnel traps. Of three species of Buprestidae captured in our study, most Buprestis lineata F. were caught in panel traps, whereas most Acmaeodera tubulus (F.) were caught in funnel traps. Catches of Chalcophora virginiensis Drury and the root-feeding weevils Hylobius pales Herbst and Pachylobius picivorus LeConte (Curculionidae) were unaffected by trap type. Among bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), catches of Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff) were unaffected by trap type, whereas most Dendroctonus terebrans (Olivier) were caught in panel traps, most Hylastes salebrosus Eichhoff were caught in panel and pipe traps, and most Hylastes tenuis Eichhoff were caught in funnel traps. Among ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), panel traps caught the most Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg), whereas pipe traps caught the most Xyleborus Eichhoff spp. More Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) and Dryoxylon onoharaensis (Murayama) were caught in panel and funnel traps than in pipe traps. Among bark beetle predators, more Platysoma Leach spp. (Histeridae) were caught in pipe and panel traps than in funnel traps, whereas most Lasconotus Erichson spp. (Zopheridae) were caught in funnel traps. Variation among trap performance for various species suggests that managers should consider more than one type of trap in their detection programs.

Dioryctria (Zeller 1846) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) moths, commonly known as coneworms, are a group of important coniferous pests. Interspecific overlap of molecular, morphological, and behavioral traits has made identification and delimitation of these species problematic, impeding their management and control. In particular, delimitation of members of the Dioryctria zimmermani species group, a diverse group of Nearctic species, is notoriously difficult. To clarify the species boundaries in this species group we examined two independent molecular markers (cytochrome c oxidase I and II and elongation factor 1a), larval host plant association, geographic distribution, and pheromone attraction in an integrated taxonomic framework. Congruence between these diagnostic traits and established species limits in the zimmermani group was variable. Some species showed well-supported congruence between established taxonomic limits and mitochondrial DNA gene tree topology, whereas other species showed little phylogenetic resolution, little correspondence with diagnostic traits, and incongruence with previously described species limits. Gene tree-species tree discordance may be caused by several evolutionary processes, such as imperfect taxonomy, incomplete lineage sorting, or introgression. Additional information, such as highly variable molecular markers, morphometrics, and larval host information, is needed to effectively evaluate and differentiate among these alternative hypotheses and fully resolve the species limits among D. zimmermani species group members.

Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is an invasive woodwasp, currently established in northeastern North America. In other regions of the world, stressed trap trees are used to monitor populations of S. noctilio and to provide inoculation points for the biological control nematode Deladenus siricidicola Bedding. However, the operational use of trap trees for S. noctilio in North America may be compromised by the large community of native organisms that inhabit stressed and dying pine trees. Common bark beetles such as Ips pini (Say) and Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) could potentially compete with S. noctilio and associates for resources on trap trees, possibly reducing the efficacy of trap trees as habitats for the woodwasp. In an attempt to develop a technology to mitigate this potential issue, three common semiochemical interruptants—conophthorin, green leaf volatile mix, and verbenone—were tested for effectiveness in reducing arrivals of I. pini and I. grandicollis on trap trees treated with herbicides in northeastern United States. In addition, the effects of these compounds were determined independently with pheromone-baited multiple-funnel traps. None of the interruptants reduced numbers of I. pini or I. grandicollis either arriving on trap trees or caught in pheromone-baited traps. However, verbenone increased catches of I. grandicollis in traps baited with its pheromone, ipsenol. The mix of green leaf volatiles reduced catches of a native ambrosia beetle, Gnathotrichus materiarius (Fitch), whereas verbenone reduced trap catches of an exotic ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford). Catches of X. germanus in traps adjacent to trap trees were enhanced with conophthorin.

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