00 .T . '·;'TO \lO I.. Se .... BIUT. CO I.I · \""A. 64 (1967)' A UG. 1. 1967

OISTHIBlTIO," ANI) HOSTS OF SO"IE 1I0HNTAILS (SI Riel f)A f,,) IN BH ITISII COLL'I BL\

E. V. MORRIS I

ABSTRACT Locality recol'ds and con iferous hosts of seven species of Siricidae in the genera Urocerus, Sirex and are recorded for British Columbia. Six species were reared from western . fi ve from alpine and only one or two from seven other hosts. The life cycle was one or two years and major emergence was betw('('n mid-July ami early August.

Horntails are widely dis tributed in hosts, and dis tribution in British Co­ the coniferous forests of Ca nada, in­ lumbia. Adults are active during the festing of low vigour, those s ummer a nd ovipost in the sapwood. damaged by fire or other agencies, The la rvae fe ed in the wood and take and recently felled trees . Little is one or more years to complete their known of their life history, habits, development to the adult stage.

TABLE 1. Emergence period and length of life cycle of sc' ven species of horn tails from caged log sections of nine coniferous hosts, Vernon, B.C. 1924 - 1930 and 1964 - 1966 Trees Speci­ Emer­ Life Host sampled, reared mens, gence cycle, no. no. period* yr. Weste rn 24 Sirex iuvencus californicus 1 Aug 30 1 larch (Ashm. ) Urocerus albicornis 8 .Jun 21 ~ 2 (F.) Jul 15 U. gigas flavicornis (L.) 1 Aug 10 1 U. californicus Nort. 1 Jun 19 1 Xeris morrisoni (Cr.) 1 Jul 25 1 X. spectrum (L). 6 Jul 13 ~ 1 Aug 30 Ponderosa 12 S. i. californicus 4 Jul 13~ 2 (Ashm.) Aug 25 Western 11 U. californicus 2 Jul 11 ~ 2 white pine Nort. 20 Lodgepole 19 S. j . californicus 14 Aug 4- 1 pine (Ashm.) Sep 3~ S. j. juvencus 1 Aug 1 1 (L.) Alpine fir 15 S. cyaneus F. 13 Jul 15 ~ 2 Aug 15 S. i. i uvencus 3 Jul 17 ~ 2 (L.) Aug 15 U. californicus 5 Jul 15~ 2 Nort. 22 Alpine fir U. albicornis 2 Jul 22~ 2 (F.) 25 X. spectrum (L.) 1 Jul 15 2 Douglas- 30 X. spectrum (L.) 1 Sep 7 1 fir U. albicornis 2 Jul 15~ 2 (F.) 17 Western 8 U. californicus 6 Jul 17~ 1 hemlock Nort. 28 White 15 S. cyaneus F. 24 Jul 15~ 2 Aug 1 Western red 6 U. albicornis 1 cedar (F.l *In some insiances there are only on e or two emergence records.

1 Forest: Entomology Laboratory. Ve rnon. B.C. .T , J<;,\"[()\lOI., S()', Bur, C UI.l~I B I'\ , 64 (1967). Al'G . 1, 1967 61

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11

UROCERUS ALBICORNIS •

U. GIG A S F L AV I COR N I S ~

U. CALIFORNICUS 0

Fig. 1. Localities '."here Urocerus spp. have been collected in British Co lumbia. 62 J. E :>I T() ~ IUI.. SOl'. Bllrl'. COL U ~lBlA, 64 (1967), Auo. I , 1967

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\ SIR E X J. JUVENCUS 0 \. SIREX J. CA LIFORNICUS • SIREX CYAN EUS !;iii XERIS MORRISONI .& _~t , XERIS SPECTRUM /:::,

Fig, 2. Localities where Sirex spp, and Xeris spp, have been collected in British Columbia. .1 F:"TO .\I

Host trees and emergence dates of ceTUS californicus em erging June 19 horn tails were obtained from wood­ from wes tern larch infes ted the pre­ borer studies conducted by personnel vious s ummer at Heckman Creek, 4() of the Forest Entomology Laboratory miles east of Vernon ; the latest was at Vernon between 1924 and 1930 a nd Xeris spectrum em er ging September from 1964 to 1966. In the latter study, 7 from Douglas -fir infested the pre­ trees of 11 species of conifers were vious summer at Trinity Valley. felled in the spring at a number of Loca lity records for seven species localities in interior British Colum­ and one sub-species of horn tails we re bia. In the autumn of the year of obtained from Forest Insect and Dis ­ felling, three 2 - foot -long sections ease Survey data from coastal and ranging from 8 to 16 inches in dia­ in terior British Columbia, and from meter were cut from the trees ana the special rearing proj ects (Figs. 1 placed in cages outdoors . Log sec­ and 2). More extensive sampling will tions were a lso taken from logging be r equired to obta in th e true range slash when the date of logging was of most of these horn tails. known. Records were k e p t of the numbers of horn tails and their emer­ Acknowledgements The a uthor is indebted to D. A. Ross for gence dates. Seven species were r ear­ permission to use the data on Sl ricids ob· ed from log sections of nine species tained from his \\·ood·borer im'esti gat ions of conifers from interior British Co·· during 1964 to ]966. The siricids lI'ere iden· lumbia (Table 1). The greatest num­ tified by II. E. Milliron, Entomology Re· search Institute, Ottall'a and B. A. Sugden, ber emer ged between mid-July and Forest Entomology La boratory, Vernon, early August. The earliest was Uro- B.C.

~OTE ON A SPRlCE BARK \\EE\IL. PISSOJ)J<;."'i ALASCEiVS/S HOPKINS (COLEOPTEH.\: elHel LlO'\IJ)\E). 1'\ BRITISII COLl \I BL\ D. F. DOIDGE '

ABSTRACT Pissodes alascensis Hopkins ranges throughout int eri or British Columbia and into Yukon Territor~ · . are preferred hosts. Weevils reared at 1,300 ft . elevation had a l ·year life cyc le, btlt most of those reared at 4,000 ft. eleva tion had a 2·year life cycle. The latt er passed the first winter in the l stage in the inner bark a nd the second as callow adults in pupal chambers in the \lood. Emergence r:lI1ged from the end of May into September.

Pissodes alaseensis was described Lorna, B.C., in 1925-30, at Vernon, by Hopkins (1911) from a type speci­ B.C. , in 1965-66, and pinned speci­ men collected n ear Koyukuk River , mens in the r efer ence collection at Alas ka. He surmised that this specie::; th e Forest Entomology Laboratory at attacked spruce and rangeel through Vernon. Yukon T erri tory and interior Bri tish In the period 1925-30, data on Columbia. This r eport gives informa ­ spruce bark weevils were obtained tion on hosts, emergence periods, life from experiments in which wood and cycle and distribution in Brit ish bark-boring Coleoptera were reared Columbia. Sources of data include un­ in caged logs of Engelmann s\.lruce, publish ed r earing r ecords from ex­ Pieea engelrnanni Parry. Emergence periments at Trinity Valley and of Piss odes alascensis ranged from the end of May until September 21. 1 Forest F.ntol1lo1ogy Laboratory, Departme nt of Forest r ), a nd Rural Developme nt , \ 'ernon, B.C. To tal em ergence at Trinity Valley