Attract and kill trees? No simple solution for Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) control

Abstract

Abstract Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), the Asian longhorned beetle, is a serious wood-boring pest of hardwood trees. There have been records that suggest Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Elaeagnaceae) might be an “attract and kill” tree species for A. glabripennis, i.e., a tree that is attractive to A. glabripennis adults but kills their oviposited eggs. To evaluate the possibility of E. angustifolia as a control measure for A. glabripennis, we carried out a series of behavioral experiments in the laboratory and in the field. Results showed that: (i) A. glabripennis females preferred E. angustifolia branches and leaves over poplar tree species evaluated; the weight of feces from both female and male A. glabripennis feeding on E. angustifolia was significantly higher than from those feeding on Populus deltoides ‘Shalinyang’ or Populus alba. L. var. pyramidalis; (ii) the average lifespan of females and males feeding on E. angustifolia was significantly longer than those feeding on other host trees evaluated; (iii) in the laboratory oviposition choice experiment, there were significantly fewer egg notch grooves on E. angustifolia than on P. deltoides ‘Shalinyang‘, and those made in E. angustifolia were without eggs; (iv) in the field, the number of egg notch grooves on E. angustifolia was 43.6 ± 18.1 per stem, but the number of eggs laid was only 14.4 ± 6.4 per stem; and (v) Field surveys of existing mixed forests showed that when E. angustifolia was planted with P. alba. var. pyramidalis or Populus simonii × (Populus pyramidalis + Salix matsudana) ‘Poparis’ in the mixed forest, both poplar varieties suffered greater infestation than E. angustifolia. Therefore, E. angustifolia is not a suitable attract and kill tree to be extensively planted in mixed forests for control of A. glabripennis.