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A Useful Secondary Sex Character in Dendroctonus Bark Beetles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

R. L. Lyon
R. L. Lyon
Affiliation:
California Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Extract

The sex of the western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis Lec.) and the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus monticolae Hopk.) can be ascertained easily and with 100 percent accuracy by means of a secondary sex character on the seventh abdominal tergite of the male. This character can probably be used with equal accuracy to identify sex in all species of the genus Dendroctonus.

The need to distinguish between the sexes of adult bark beetles often arises in studies of biology, behavior, or response. The sexing procedure is laborious when large numbers of beetles are involved and external markings of sex are not known. It is then necessary to dissect each beetle to check the genitalia. Dissection is impossible when iniury to the insect must be avoided.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 90 , Issue 10 , October 1958 , pp. 582 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1958

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References

Chapman, J. A. 1955. Sex determination by stridulation sounds in the Douglas-fir beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae. Canada Dept. Agr., Science Service, Forest Biol. Div. Bi-monthly Prog. Rept. 11(3): 1–4.Google Scholar
Hopkins, A. D. 1909. Contributions toward a monograph of the scolytid beetles. I. The genus Dendroctonus. U.S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Series No. 17, Part 1, pp. 1–164.Google Scholar