Organ Developed for Storing Ambrosia Fungus by the Pitted Ambrosia Beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus Zimm. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

1964 ◽  
Vol 96 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 111-111
Author(s):  
R. J. Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Ambrosia Beetle ◽  
Inside Surface ◽  
Southern Ontario

During the course of a study of the bionomics of the pitted ambrosia beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus Zimm., in southern Ontario in 1959, the method of overwintering fungal spores and their transmission from brood galleries to healthyplants by the beetle was determined. It was found that a structure exists, in the prothorax of males of C. punctatissimus, for this purpose. The spores are stored in a long, folded tube on each side adjacent to the prothoracic wall. The opening of each tube is in the prothoracic coxal cavity and is opened or closed by a process on the coxa. Since there are no muscles attached directly to the tubes, the spores are probably discharged by the squeezing action (on the tubes) of the retracted head against the prothoracic wall. The inside surface of the tubes is very smooth and glossy, producing a minimum of resistance to the flow of spores. No evidence was found of any comparable structure for storing spores in the females of C. punctatissimus.

The Storage of Ambrosia Fungus Spores by the Pitted Ambrosia Beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus Zimm. (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

1963 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Abdominal Tergite ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Ambrosia Beetle ◽  
Ambrosia Beetles ◽  
Southern Ontario ◽  
Small Cavity ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Xylosandrus Germanus

During the course of a study of the bionomics of the pitted ambrosia beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus Zimm., in southern Ontario in 1959, the method of overwintering fungal spores and their transmission from brood galleries to healthy plants by the beetles was determined. This process was not clearly understood with respect to any of the ambrosia beetles until recently when Francke-Grosmann (1956) described in detail the different structures, present in several species of Platypodidae and Scolytidae, used in storing fungal spores. In Scolytidae she found that the females of some Trypodendron species store spores in tube-like structures within the prothorax (invaginations of the prothoracic wall); that females of Xylosandrus germanus Bldf. and Anisandrus dispar Fabr. keep spores overwinter in shallow pouches in the intersegmental membrane between the pronotum and mesonotum; that females of Xyleborinus saxeseni Ratz. store them in a small cavity at the anterior edge of the elytra; and that females of Xyleborus pfeili Ratz. store the spores in a receptacle on the “posterior” abdominal tergite. In some species of Platypodidae she found somewhat similar structures in both males and females. In 1959 Fernando (1959) described spore storage by the shot-hole borer, Xyleborus fornicatus Eichh. He found that females store spores in sacs on either side of the head, situated anterior to the brain, and that the sacs open by ducts into the upper part of the oral cavity.

Notes on the Biology of the Pitted Ambrosia Beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), in Ontario and Quebec

1967 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Ambrosia Beetle ◽  
Southern Ontario

AbstractThe pitted ambrosia beetle, Corthylus punctatissimus (Zimm.), was studied during widespread infestations in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stands of southern Ontario and Quebec. A brief description of each stage of the insect is given, and its life history and habits, as well as the damage caused to the host plant are discussed.

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