Naked red trunks, looking up, dry branches without a hint of needles … Such a picture can sometimes be seen in pine forests or spruce forests. It seems that someone intentionally poisoned and destroyed the forest. In fact, the pest is the fault - the typography beetle. Photos show that this is a small insect up to 5-5.5 cm in size, black or dark brown in color. The little body and legs are covered with small hairs.
The beetle typographer got its name thanks to the scientific descriptions of Karl Linnaeus. He noticed that the pattern that the bark beetle leaves on the cut resembles a skillfully applied decorative ornament, as if it were printed by a typographic machine.
The bark beetle typograph beetle is distributed practically on the whole continent of Eurasia, where the zone of temperate and subtropical climate is located. Already brought him to North America. In a word, it can be found wherever there are conifers, especially he loves spruce and pine.
The typography beetle activates as soon as the sun warms up, in April. He is very picky, prefers mature trees with thick bark, settles on young growth only if all the places are already taken, lack of food can make him absorb freshly cut stumps, but he will not eat dry or rotten wood for any kind of baking. Here is such a gourmet.
The typography beetle begins its activity after the male, after wintering, searches for suitable trees to feed his offspring. Having picked up a place, he begins to equip it. He does it like that. He gnaws a small hole in the trunk, where he invites several females. They find each other, emitting specific odors that indicate a willingness to acquire offspring. Fertilizing and providing housing, the male becomes unnecessary. The rest is done by females. They make moves and chambers where they lay eggs.
Interestingly, an adult typographic beetle does not feed on wood. Making moves in a tree trunk, he is forced to get rid of sawdust obtained in the production process, each time pushing them to the beginning of the entrance to throw it away. Having completed their hard work and laying eggs, males and females go to look for other places. Over the summer, they manage to make three or four masonry.
They themselves do not live in the trunk of the trees, they do not need a large amount of food, they can fly, therefore they are content with young coniferous shoots. But the larvae are the most important pests. They go from eggs to beetles in stages, in two months.
The bark beetle leaves the pupa still soft, then molts several times and turns into an adult. His life expectancy is pretty long by the standards of insects. So, a young beetle leaves for wintering, which will live until next fall. They hibernate in forest litter and withstand temperatures up to 30 degrees below zero. It happens that in the winter larvae and pupae leave, but in severe cold they die.
The typography beetle is a serious threat to coniferous forests. There are no chemicals capable of affecting its numbers. Developments are underway to increase the population of natural enemies of bark beetles, which could reduce their population.
