Behaviour of European spruce bark beetle - Ips typographus (L.) on poisoned traps

Deployment of poisoned trap trees/logs is efficient suppressive method to fight Ips typographus (L., 1758) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), a calamity pest of spruce stands in the European area during the gradation period. Logs from Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., 1881 (Pinales: Pinaceae) laid as traps were baited IT Ecolure pheromone and were treated with Forester insecticide containing cypermethrin as the active substance. Catching frames were placed under the pheromone trap to gather dead imagoes. Behaviour of imagoes was observed directly in the field and recorded by camera; video records were evaluated in the laboratory.

Higher mean of air temperature affected favourably the flight activity of Ips typographus, increased the frequency of arrival on and departure from the surface of poisoned trap tree; the imagoes stayed on the trap tree for shorter time. The numbers of dead imagoes under the trap trees did not depend on the temperature.

Increasing number of live imagoes on poisoned trap trees/logs correlated with increasing proportion of caught dead imagoes, decreasing length of live imagoes staying on the trap tree, and increasing frequency of arrival to and departure from the trap tree.

The presence of pheromone lure and insecticide treatment induced rectilinear and uninterrupted flight towards and away from the pheromone lure. No attempt was observed to gnaw an entrance hole.

 Mortality on the poisoned trap tree ranged from 18 to 21%, 40–60% of poisoned imagoes died later due to the contamination.

Methods
Data collection:

Direct observation in the field
Camera recording and its evaluation

Data processing:

Statistical evaluation using STATISTICA (TIBCO), graphic processing in Microsoft Excel.
Interpretation by comparison with existing knowledge.