[mou] Beetle tidbits

[Jim Williams]

The Pine Sawyer beetles were the main attraction several years ago at a=20=

Red Pine plantation burn in central Douglas County, Wisconsin.=20
Black-backed Woodpeckers were plentiful for several months after the=20
fire was out, feeding on the larvae of this beetle. Three-toed=20
Woodpeckers also were seen on the burn, although in much smaller=20
numbers. Someone on a WDNR burn crew told me that the beetles often=20
arrived before a fire was out. The woodpeckers also, apparently,=20
followed the smoke. I don't know how else so many of them would have=20
located that particular beetle-infested site.

Perhaps some of you recall a fire some years ago near Thunder Bay that=20=

also attracted large numbers of these two woodpecker species,=20
particularly Black-backed. This fire covered several tens of thousands=20=

of acres. A woodpecker count was taken in one area, that total=20
extrapolated over the entire burn. As I recall, it was estimated that=20
as many as 20,000 Black-backed Woodpeckers could have been present if=20
the saturation of the entire burn matched that of the count area.

An aside: when the larvae hatched and the beetles were chewing their=20
way out of the pines, you could clearly hear the munching sound they=20
made. You also could see small piles of sawdust, from the beetles=20
excavation efforts, at the base of the trees from which they had=20
emerged.

Jim Williams
Wayzata



On Oct 31, 2006, at 9:16 AM, Howard Weinberg wrote:

In refernce to woodpecker/beetles, here are some tidbits that i recall:
=A0
One common group of bark beetles here belong to the "Ips" genus.=A0 The=20=

Pine Engraver (Ips pini) is one of the species.=A0 They are=A0in the=20
Scolytidae family.=A0 They are small (~1/4 inch), dark, and have a=20
hunched-over neck/head.=A0 They are one of the species that carve out=20
those cool looking galleries on the tree just under the bark.=A0 Eggs =
are=20
laid in those galleries (in brood galleries).=A0 When eggs hatch, the=20
larva move away, creating new tunnels that get bigger as they grow.=A0=20=

There are other species as well, and no shortage of wood boring insects=20=

too.=A0 The trees around my house for example, have many round exit =
holes=20
about the width of a pencil, which i think is pretty indicative of=20
a=A0cerambycid (Long-Horned Beetles), the Pine Sawyer.=A0 They are=20
dark,=A0about an inch long,=A0have very long antenna, and have a  white =
dot=20
on their back at the base of the wings.=A0 Eggs are laid in the bark and=20=

the larva bore into the tree.=A0 That's about all i remember from from =
my=20
college days.=A0=A0
=A0
Howard=A0

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