Tetropium gabrieli
From Bugwoodwiki
From: Kolk A., Starzyk J. R., 1996: The Atlas of Forest Insect Pests (Atlas skodliwych owadów lesnych) - Multico Warszawa, 705 pages. Original publication in Polish. English translation provided by Dr. Lidia Sukovata and others under agreement with The Polish Forest Research Institute.
Occurrence: The European species, introduced to many places together with the larch.
Host plants: Almost exclusively the larch, very rare on the pine, spruce or fir.
Morphology: Similar to T. castaneum and T. fuscum. Adults are black, 8-18 mm long. The head between bases of antennae is without a deep groove. T. gabrieli has a pronotum more densely punctured than T. castaneum. Elytrae dull are covered with a short pubescence. The color of elytrae, pronotum, legs and antennae varies from black to reddish. Larvae are up to 19 mm long and pupae are 10-16 mm in length.
Biology: Adults are active from May through July. The biology is similar to other Tetropium sp. Adults do not feed. Females oviposit into bark crevices and eggs hatch 10-14 days after. Larvae feed inside the bark during 2-3 weeks and later feed under it. They make banded galleries up to 1 cm wide that go perpendicularly to fibers. Larvae construct pupal chambers up to 6 cm deep in the wood or in the bark. This species has one generation per year, but in favorable climatic conditions adults can emerge already in late-August of the same year.
Damage: T. gabrieli attacks and kills weakened trees in a very short time. It also infests the timber, windthrows and stumps. Technical damage is caused by the excavation of pupal chambers up to 6 cm deep in the wood. Much damage is caused particularly in larch plantations.
Preventive measures and control: Similar to T. castaneum.







