Winter mortality in sub-corticolous populations of Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Scolytidae) and its parasitoids in the south-eastern Alps

Abstract

A study concerning the winter mortality of a sub-corticolous population of Ips typographus and its parasitoids has been carried out in the south-eastern Alps (Italy) during the winter 1997/98. Three attacked spruce trees were sampled three times (November, February and April) by collecting infested bark disks (1 dm² each). All insects that emerged from the bark or died in the samples before emergence were counted. The mean number of living Ips typographus occurring under the bark decreases by 49 % from November to April. Winter mortality mainly affects larval stages and young adults. The same trend was observed for the parasitoids Coeloides bostrychorum (48.5 %) and Roptrocerus xylophagorum (47.5 %).