Bark beetle printer is a dangerous pest

A real disaster can turn intosuch a beetle as a bark beetle in a wooden house. He has long settled in the vast territories of the European part of Russia, the Far East and Siberia. Why does the bug hinder ordinary people and what damage does the forest cause?

Короед-типограф получил свое название не случайно.If a couple of such insects settles in the bark of a tree, then their further activity will lead to the fact that the trunk will resemble an imprint of a typographic machine.

Very young beetles, recently emerged from the pupa,have a very small size, their bodies are soft, light brown in color. Growing up, they change color, becoming very dark and even black, with small dots on the back. The maximum height is 4.5 mm. At the tip of the body there is a groove with sharp edges, called a wheelbarrow.

Bark beetle (photo presented in the article)inhabits healthy and fallen trees, in the thick of wooden logs, sometimes stumps. In this case, only males participate in the exploration and search for suitable housing.

Choosing a decent wooden shelter, the malegnaws a spacious cavity where 2-3 females crawl, each of which is fertilized. After that, the females build their own uterus. The tunnel, which gnaws a bark beetle, is intended only for laying eggs. Stroke length can be up to 15 cm, with each egg laid out in a specially gnawed dimple. At this stage, the mission of adult beetles is over. They go outside, fly, feed on tree bark, branches, gnaw shoots. And young larvae begin to develop actively, eating everything in their path.

Voracious brood creates moves freakyforms in which the person considered the “typographical” drawing. The development stage of the larvae lasts 60-70 days. Then adult typographical beetles come out of the pupa. They are still some time in their usual place, under the bark, and then fly out into the wild. The younger generation is ready for the mating season and goes in search of a suitable tree. The process resumes. In the hot summer, three generations can be brought out in succession, which will completely spoil the wooden buildings and damage the forest. A healthy tree dies in 2-3 years. Trying to defend itself, it releases resin and juice in the cavity, but does not withstand constant invasions. A wooden frame turns into a pile of dust even faster.

In this regard, the fight against bark beetle-typographershould begin when the first signs of his stay are found. Folk remedies are unlikely to help. Science has found that the bark beetle reacts sensitively to odors. During the mating season, the males secrete ferromones, odorous calling substances. This was the idea to use smells in traps. The method is very effective, since all the females in the area flock to the same scent. But, unfortunately, the larvae remain in place. Therefore, a cardinal method is used - removing the bark from infected trees and burning it, cutting down diseased shrubs, annealing the area.