Flatheaded and Roundheaded Borer Management and Phenology in Nursery Systems
Abstract
Flatheaded borers (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are common pests in nursery production systems. The goals of this study were to examine characteristics of a pest buprestid [flatheaded appletree borer, Chrysobothris femorata (Olivier)] and cerambycid [tupelo borer, Aegomorphus morrisi (Uhler)]. The experiments included investigations of phenology, and the development of an artificial diet that would aid in rearing beetles for further studies. Stress factors such as mechanical damage and herbicide-stressed-foliage were evaluated for effects on beetle tree attacks and trap captures. Both beetles were successfully reared from artificial diet from older instars; however, flatheaded borer larvae showed less signs of diet feeding compared to longhorn beetle larvae. In the field, adult flatheaded borers were fully developed at ~746 growing degree days (GDD) (base 10°C [50°F]) based on dissections of trees in spring. Different mechanical stress treatments showed that large red maples with a trunk wedge removed had more attacks than girdled or felled trees. Based on the data, higher attacks may be due to the tree still being partially alive and declining more slowly when attacked versus completely dead. When looking at the attractiveness of herbicide-stressed vegetation, vegetation sprayed throughout the summer months did not affect the number of flatheaded borers caught on traps. This study also evaluated different lures commonly used to attract a variety of longhorned beetles for ability to capture tupelo borer; however, the tupelo borer was not trapped using fuscumol or fuscumol acetate. With this information collected better management strategies and practices to reduce flatheaded borer and longhorn beetle attacks within a nursery system can be evaluated.
Subject Area
Natural Resource Management|Entomology|Horticulture
Recommended Citation
Aubree Morrison,
"Flatheaded and Roundheaded Borer Management and Phenology in Nursery Systems"
(2024).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI31140911.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI31140911