Skip to main content
Entomology 2021 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
In-Person
In-Person
Livestream
Livestream
On-Demand
On-Demand
Student Competition
Student Competition
Video Chat
Video Chat
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Poster Icons
Student Competition
Student Competition
In-Person
In-Person
Poster
Poster
On-Demand
On-Demand
Back
Q&A ViewAttendees 2

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: Forest Entomology

Larval feeding behavior and risk of parasitism according to host tree species, size, and level of infestation by the phloem feeding emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

Wednesday, November 3, 2021
9:12 AM – 9:24 AM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 103-105
In-Person

Phytophagous insects that feed in concealed locations such as under the bark of trees consume and live within their host-plants in often-characteristic tunnels known as galleries. The patterns created are the culmination of trade-offs between maximizing access to high-quality nutrients and minimizing interactions with plant defensive metabolites, limiting apparency to natural enemies, and avoiding competitors. We designed a field study to evaluate the success of larvae of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, in two species of its host plants (Fraxinus spp.) in North America across trees of different sizes proposed to vary in their suitability to the beetle. Two species of parasitoids that attack A. planipennis were also introduced to evaluate levels of parasitism under these conditions. Gallery characteristics such as length and structure were predicted to vary according to the suitability of host material, and that these characteristics would influence the development of larvae of A. planipennis as well as their likelihood of being parasitized. We present preliminary data from our ongoing project evaluating these questions. Results from our study will enhance our understanding of the ecology and evolution of organisms that feed in concealed environments, particularly behavioral adaptations that may increase their fitness.