Pityogenes calcaratus Eichhoff
Systematic position: Insecta, Holometabola, Coleoptera, Scolytidae.
Common name: Bark beetle.
Geographic distribution: The Mediterranean region.
Morphology: Body 1.8-2.5 mm long, pale-brown, dorsum punctuated, covers head. The elytra bear several pairs of caudal protuberances, the anterior pair largest and sclerotic. Larva white with a brown head.
Host plants: Several pine species (Pinus spp.).
Life history; Pityogenes calcaratus infests pines, gnawing within the bark and depositing its eggs in small chambers. The larvae tunnel, feed and pupate there. The pest raises several annual generations.
Economic importance: Pityogenes calcaratus is an important pest of pines, causing much tree mortality during autumn and winter, especially in thinned stands.
Management
Monitoring: The flight of the beetle can be monitored by using funnel traps with the aggregation pheromone Pheroprax.
Mass trapping: Large numbers of the pest were trapped with the aggregation pheromone Pheroprax.
Biological control: Several species of the parasitoid genusDendrosoter Braconidae attack P. calcaratu in Israel. A microsporidian infects the pest in the Middle East.
References
Mendel, Z. 1986. Hymenopterous parasitoids of bark beetles (Scolytidae) in Israel: Host relation, host plant, abundance and seasonal history. Entomophaga 31: 113-125.
Mendel, Z. 1988. Attraction of Orthotomicus erosus and Pityogenes calcaratus to a synthetic aggregation pheromone of Ips typographus Phytoparasitica 16: 109-117.
Mendel, Z., Boneh, O. and Riov. J. 1992. Some foundations for the application of aggregation pheromone to control pine bark beetles in Israel. Journal of Applied Entomology 114: 217–227.
Mendel, Z., Boneh, O. Shenhar, Y. and Riov. J. 1991. Diurnal flight patterns of Orthotomicus erosus and Pityogenes calcaratus in Israel. Phytoparasitica 19: 23-31.
Podoler, H., Mendel, Z. and Livne, H. 1990. Studies on the biology of a bark beetle predator, Aulonium ruficorne (Coleoptera: Colydiidae). Environmental Entomology 19: 1010-1016.
Purrini, K. and Halperin, J. 1982. Nosema calcarati n.sp. (Microsporidia), a new parasite of Pityogenes calcaratus Eichhoff (Col., Scolytidae). Zeitschrift für Angewandte Entomologie 94: 87–92.