Life Cycle and Host Preference of Xylotrechus rusticus (L., 1758) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in the Heilongjiang Province, China
Keywords:
Gray tiger longicorn beetle, development timing, life history, host preference, sex ratio, poplar-boring longhorn beetle.Abstract
The gray tiger longicorn beetle, Xylotrechus rusticus (L., 1758) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is a wood-boring forest insect species. An outbreak of this insect in the 2000s caused a great deal of damage to the Three North Shelter Forests in the western part of Northeast China. To control this beetle and provide data for risk analysis, the development timing, life cycle and host preference were investigated. X. rusticus completed one generation per year and overwintered as larva in its last instar in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China. The sex ratio was biased 2:1 toward males. The natural mortality was only 4%. The diameter at breast height (DBH) of the infested poplar in this study ranged from 10 to 42 cm. The larvae crowded in the trunks at a height of 3-5 m above the ground. The percentages of attack among various poplar lines were significantly different.
