Monitoring Insect Activity Near Sites Infested with Phytophthora ramorum in Southwest Oregon
Alan Kanaskie1, Karen Violet2, Everett Hansen3, and Wendy Sutton2, and James Labonte4
Sudden oak death, caused by Phytophthora ramorum, was found in late July 2001 near Brookings, Oregon, killing tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) and infecting Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum) and evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum). In 2001, nine disease patches totaling 40 acres in size were treated by cutting and burning all host plants within the disease patch and within at least 50 feet of its edge. In May 2002, we distributed 15 pairs of vane traps (3 or 4 per site) around the perimeters of four of the disease patches. Traps within a pair were baited with either slow-release ethanol or freshly-cut tanoak logs. Insects were captured at the bottom of the vane trap in a plastic container armed with a kill-strip. At two-week intervals through October 2002, we collected insects and rainwater from traps, and examined logs for evidence of beetle attacks. We focused on insects that we considered likely associates with Sudden Oak Death, mainly Monarthrum spp., Xyleborus spp., Pityophthores sp., Pseudopityophthores spp., and Xyleborinea sp. Insects and rainwater were periodically analyzed for presence of P. ramorum. The most frequently captured insects were Xyleborinea saxesenii, Pseudopityophthores pubipennis, and Monarthrum scutellare. P. ramorum occasionally was recovered from rainwater accumulated in the traps. Beetles were recovered from some of the trap logs, but P. ramorum was not.
1 Oregon Dept. Forestry, Salem, OR 97310
2Oregon State University, Dept. Botany and Plant Pathology, Corvallis, OR 97331
3Oregon State University, Dept. Botany and Plant Pathology, Corvallis, OR 97331; (541) 737-5243; hansene@bcc.orst.edu
4Oregon Dept. Agriculture, Salem, OR 97301
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