Biological studies of Brazilian Scolytidae and Platypodidae (Coleoptera). I. Camptocerus Dejean

Abstract

Observations were made on Camptocerus aeneipennis (F.), C. aterrimus Eggers, C. niger (F.) and C. aquilus Wood infesting felled trees in the gallery and valley forests of the north-eastern Mato Grosso between September and December, 1968. The lifecycles of all four species are completed in 7–10 weeks. The gallery systems resemble those of the Xyloterini and Scolytoplatypus. The maternal galleries penetrate the wood and either lie in the transverse plane or run longitudinally, depending on the stem diameter. Trees of the family Burseraceae are especially attacked. The larvae are mycetophagous, developing in cradles which they enlarge as they grow. Larvae were attacked by an ectoparasitic Braconid wasp and predatory beetle larvae. Larval mortality is lower when one or both parents remain in the gallery. The potential forest importance of the four species could be contained by bark removal and rapid drying.