The social context in bark beetle - fungus bioassays: a case study in European fir engraver bark beetles and their fungal associates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Certain species of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are among the most aggressive herbivorous forest insects due to their mass aggregation behavior and symbiosis with filamentous fungi. These characteristics help them overwhelm the natural defenses of the healthy trees they attack, and consequently, they are classified as primary pest species. Despite their important role in the beetles' success, the community of fungal symbionts and their key mutualist taxa are only well understood for a few symbionts in a small number of bark beetle species. Recent developments have shown that key mutualists can be identified using in vitro olfactory or gustatory bioassays. However, these assays have only tested mixed-sex groups of beetles. This introduces potential bias

SUBMITTER: Tanin SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12855431 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature