Mountain Pine Beetle Infestations in Relation to Lodgepole Pine Diameters

Download or read book Mountain Pine Beetle Infestations in Relation to Lodgepole Pine Diameters written by Walter E. Cole and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tree losses resulting from infestation by the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) were measured in two stands of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl.) where the beetle population had previously been epidemic. Measurement data showed that larger diameter trees were infested and killed first. Tree losses ranged from 1 percent of trees 4 inches (d.b.h.) to 87 percent of those 16 inches and greater d.b.h. Numbers of adult beetle emergence holes averaged 1.3 per square foot of bark area in trees 7 inches d.b.h. and 62 in trees 28 inches and greater d.b.h. The observations indicate that large infestations of mountain pine beetle depend on the presence of large diameter trees within a stand of lodgepole pine, thus implying that beetle population growth is food-limited.