Diversity, Abundance and Seasonality of Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Southern Mississippi

A survey was undertaken in 2010 to assess the composition of the ambrosia beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) community at two research sites in southern Mississippi. Inexpensive beetle traps were constructed and fitted with ethanol lures, and bi-weekly collections were made from March through November. The granulate ambrosia beetle [Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky)] was the most abundant xyleborine species at both sites, with more specimens collected at the Poplarville site. Other species were more abundant at the McNeill site. The black twig borer [Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff)] was the second-most abundant species in Mississippi, yet has not been reported from collections by collaborators in Ohio, Virginia, or Tennessee. The camphor shot borer [Xylosandrus mutilatus (Blandford)] was collected in relatively low numbers at both sites. The black stem borer [Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford)] is commonly collected by our collaborators, but none was collected from either of our research sites in southern Mississippi.