lecture exam 2 Flashcards
Tussock moths
family erebidae
fuzzy caterpillars with urticating hairs
both native and invasive defoliators in North America
spongy moths
deliberately imported and accidentally released in 1869.
feed on >300 woody plants
tree mortality variable 15% basal area loss; mortality is often delayed.
douglas-fir tussock moths
native species
feed on Douglas fir and true fir species
tree mortality is extensive in mature, heavily defoliated stands.
mortality 20-80%
Brown tail caterpillar
found in Massachusetts in 1897
spread rapidly through the northeast and Canada
has special urticating hairs with strong toxins that can easily break off and go airborne. they remain active in the environment for many years.
by 1914 the species populations went extinct except for 2 small populations in Cape Cod and Casco Bay, Maine.
the population began to spike again in 2015.
Sawflies
belong to the group in Hymenoptera called the symphyta.
bee like adults with chewing mouthparts
some bee and wasp mimics
this group has free feeders, leaf miners, stem borers, wood borers, and a parasitic superfamily.
2 important defoliator families: diprionidae and tenthredinae
DIpronidae
small sawfly family that feeds on conifers.
often colonial with a defensive posture.
aposematic coloration.
tenthredinae
a very large sawfly family of mostly free feeders
Leaf Miners
leaf miners are larval insecrs that live and feed between the epidermal layers of leaves.
most species complete their development within a single compartment of a leaf
~10,000 spp worldwide
evolved independently in many orders including Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera
few are major defoliators; most are nuisances or cause aesthetic damage
Invasives: horse chestnut miner, birch leaf miner
native: locust leaf miner, aspen serpentine miner
Effect of defoliation on forests
stand composition: shift in tree species due to mortality and replacement. altered competition balance.
stand structure: dead trees create gaps. mortality may differentially affect size classes creating altered distribution. coarse wood debris. Tree snags.
Bark and ambrosia beetles vs. woodborers
wood borers do not have a complex ecological relationship with the host tree. Bark beetles do and ambrosia beetles tend to be very specialized.
Woodborers primarily feed on non-living xylem tissue
most use dead or dying trees.
species that feed on cambium are more important for tree mortality.
Bark beetles
Scolytinae
feed on phloem
obligate mutualist fungi
mostly conifer feeders
complex communication systems
ambrosia beetles
platypodidae
obligate mutualist fungi
feed on xylem
lack complex pheromones
hardwood and conifer feeders
mycangia
complex cuticular invagination for transporting of symbiotic fungi.
Primary bark beetles
Capable of attacking and killing healthy trees
secondary bark beetles
Attack dead and dying trees including those from primary bark beetle attacks
conifer defense
many conifers are well-defended because they co-evolved with bark beetles.
pitch resin pushes out beetles containing toxins (terpenoids).
hypersensitivity response the cells around a foreign object die or melanize
mass attack
Outbreaks begin when a number of beetles are produced by stressed or unhealthy trees.
as more and more tree beetles attack the tres the effect of resinosis becomes less and less effective allowing more beetles to colonize.