Comparison of the Ecological Traits and Boring Densities of Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Two Host Tree Species

Abstract

We investigated the ecological traits of emerging adults and the boring density in Aromia bungii-infested flowering cherry (Cerasus × yedoensis ‘Somei-yoshino’) and peach (Prunus persica) trees to evaluate their suitability as food resources for A. bungii, and their vulnerability to infestation. The number of adults per m3 that emerged from P. persica was 10-times larger than from C. × yedoensis, and the numbers of emergence holes, entrance holes, and pupal chambers were also larger in P. persica logs. The lifetime fecundity of adults that emerged from P. persica was also higher. Elytral length, sex ratios, and adult lifespans did not differ between the two host trees. Our results indicate that peach trees provide more suitable conditions than do flowering cherry trees for A. bungii larvae. Although flowering cherry trees, primarily C. × yedoensis, which are currently grown as street or ornamental trees in Japan, have been more severely affected by A. bungii to date, the greater risk in the long term is to P. persica, an agricultural species in the main producing areas surrounding the Kanto region.