Abstract

Availability of synthetic attractants for Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman provided a means to evaluate effects of prescribed insecticidal control measures on the pest and its natural insect enemies. Olfactory and visual stimuli governing the behavior of these insects comprise an integral part of a complex system of colonization. Application of a persistent insecticidal formulation (benzene hexachloride-diesel oil) to suppress the target insect inadvertently becomes more deleterious to its natural enemies. A theory to explain the change in population dynamics of the southern pine beetle in east Texas from a periodically occurring problem to one of chronically high population levels is conceptualized.

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