Nature of resistance of pines to bark beetles

Abstract

Patterns of susceptibility of pines to attack by certain species of Dendroctonus bark beetles suggest that a resistance mechanism exists. This situation was first called to my attention in 1949 by John M. Miller, entomologist at the Berkeley Forest Insect Laboratory. He was studying the resistance of pines to insects, at the Institute of Forest Genetics near Placerville, California. Miller worked closely with N. T. Mirov, who was studying differences in the volatile constituents of wood oleoresins of pine species. Miller, as others had suggested before, felt that differences in oleoresin constituents might cause the specificity of attacks by Dendroctonus brevicomis Lee. on Pinus ponderosa Laws.

Citation

Callaham, Robert Z. 1966. Nature of resistance of pines to bark beetles. In: Breeding Pest-Resistant Trees, Proceedings of a N.A.T.O. and N.S.F. Symposium held at The Pennsylvania State University, August 30 to September 11, 1964. Pergamon Press: p. 197-201