Influence of a brushwood elimination after felling on a population density of pine bark beetle pityogenes chalcographus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

The aim of the experiment was to determine if leaving brushwood after felling leads to an increased population density of the bark beetle Pityogenes chalcographus (L.) and if there is an associated increase in the likelihood of an attack on neighbouring trees, especially young ones, because of the remaining brushwood. P. chalcographus was captured in pheromone traps over two years on three types of clear-cuts (with freely distributed brushwood, freshly removed brushwood and older clearing also with removed brushwood). The sex ratio of captured P. chalcographus was observed at the same time. No statistically significant differences were found in the amount of captures in the pheromone traps in the different types of clear-cuts. Therefore, it is clear that the brushwood left on clear-cuts does not lead to increased numbers of P. chalcographus that would lead to significant increases in its population density. Trees in adjacent stand edges were not infested. In the first year of the experiment no difference in the amount of captured males and females in trappings was found in any of the different types of clear-cuts, but in the second year a statistically significant difference between males and females in traps was found. Females predominated (52.6-57.4%) in both years.