Coleopteran predators of bark and woodboring beetles attracted to traps baited with ethanol and α-pinene in pine (Pinaceae) forests of the southern United States of America

Abstract

Abstract The effects of ethanol and α-pinene lures on trap catches of forest coleopteran predators and fungivores were evaluated in studies conducted in 2002–2004 to evaluate trap responses of bark and woodboring beetles in the southern United States of America. Traps baited with ethanol, α-pinene, or a combination of the two attracted predator species in six families of Coleoptera. The most abundant species were Coptodera aerata Dejean (Carabidae), Thanasimus dubius Fabricius (Cleridae), Temnoscheila virescens (Fabricius) (Trogossitidae), and Lasconotus spp. (Zopheridae). Most species were attracted by both ethanol and α-pinene lures; traps baited with both compounds generally caught the greatest numbers for most species. There was some evidence of geographic variation in responses to ethanol and α-pinene. For example, catches of C. aerata in ethanol-baited traps were enhanced by the addition of α-pinene in North Carolina but not in Alabama or South Carolina. Catches of Lasconotus spp. in traps baited with α-pinene were enhanced with ethanol in Florida but not in North and South Carolina. The fungivore Pycnomerus sulcicollis LeConte (Zopheridae) was captured in significant numbers in traps baited with α-pinene. Responses of predators to ethanol and α-pinene mirrored those of bark and woodboring beetles captured in these same experiments.