Eastern larch beetle reproductive success in western and subalpine larch

Eastern larch beetle Dendroctonus simplex LeConte has been outbreaking for
the past two decades in the Great Lakes region of North America, impacting
approximately 400,000 hectares of eastern larch Larix laricina (tamarack) forest
in Minnesota, United States, alone. Range expansions of some Dendroctonus
species driven by climate change have occurred across North America as rising
temperatures increase climatically suitable habitats across latitudes and elevations.
The range of eastern larch beetle is currently sympatric to that of its host, eastern
larch, but the insect could, in theory, eventually access ranges of other species
of Larix native to North America. We compared host suitability of two potential
novel hosts, western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) and subalpine larch (Larix
lyalli Parl.) against the beetle’s native host, eastern larch, using a reproductive
success experiment conducted in cut bolts of all three species. We measured
fertility, maternal gallery length, and offspring size and lipid content as metrics
of reproductive success.

We share data here upon publication of this work in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.