Hymenopterous parasites of lps spp. bark beetles (Coleoptera:Scolytidae) in Virginia

The pine engraver beetles (~ spp.:Coleoptera:Scolytidae) may be serious pests depending on certain prerequisite conditions. In their secondary or "normal" role they breed in slash and damaged, dying, and dead trees. The broods emerging from these sources normally attack similar material. When such material is scarce due to cessation of cutting operations in mid-season or when conditions are especially favorable for brood development, an excess of beetles is often produced which, due to the lack of more suitable material, attack healthy trees. Repeated attacks cause these trees to succumb and die. When normally healthy trees are weakened by fire, flood, defoliation, drought, stagnation, etc., then they become more acceptable host material for successful engraver attacks. When the production of a very large number of beetles in "normal" breeding material coincides with physiological stress in "healthy" trees, then population explosions can occur. When large numbers of beetles and low host vigor do not coincide, spot kills cornnon1y occur. According to Thatcher (32), spot kills, although not conspicuous, add up to large volumes of timber loss each year.