Black pine barbel (Monochamus galloprovincialis) lives in the forest and steppe forests of Europe, Siberia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, as well as in the northern regions of Africa, Turkey, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Insect activity begins in mid-June and lasts throughout July. The life cycle of an arthropod is 1-2 years.
Description of black pine barbel
The adult beetle has a thick body, the length of which ranges from 11 to 28 mm. The color is characterized by a bronze reflection, black and brown colors. On flat short elytra there are hair spots with gray, white, red or yellow bristles. Pronotum is transverse in females and oblong in males. Up to the middle of the arthropod carapace, a wide bare strip was drawn. The visor can be either whitish, yellow, or rusty-yellow.
On the belly of the beetle there are corns with lateral granules on which there are single microspikes (up to 60 pieces). Reddish hairs grow on the head. On the inner side next to the long antennae there is a spiky tubercle. A narrow longitudinal recess is located in the middle of the head. The eyes of the insect are broad-shaped, large in size. Coarse brown bristles grow on middle tibiae. The bottom of the body protects the reddish-bronze hairline.
Black pine barbel is extremely photophilous. The beetle prefers to settle in thinned places with well-warmed stands. In forests, where in addition to conifers there are other trees, the number of pests is much lower. According to the observations of biologists, adult beetles inhabit the entire trunk, but males usually live on top, and females live in the butt.
The appearance of the larvae
The egg of the future insect has an elongated white shape, which tapers slightly to the caudal pole and becomes narrowly rounded. The outer shell of the embryo is strewn with small deep cells. The width of the chorion is 1.4 mm, while the length is 3.5 mm.
The body of the larva is covered with rare short setae. Half of the head is still pulled into the front of the chest; on its edge there is a wide band of black color. The color of the temporoparietal lobe is brown, and on the forehead it acquires a white hue. The eyes are located on both sides of the head. The respiratory organs are oval without edge chambers. Tergite of the mesothorax and mesothorax covered with barely noticeable spines. The length of the black barbel larva is about 45 mm.
Beetle doll
At this stage, the body becomes quite wide. The head in the crown of the head and forehead has a longitudinal groove. Near the clypeus, six spines form a transverse row, which is widely interrupted in the middle. The second half of the antennae in females of the black pine barbel is twisted in two turns, and in males - in three.
On the sides of the transverse pronotum, a large conical tubercle is visible. Moderately protruding mesoscutum characterized by a slightly elongated shield to the posterior margin. In addition, in this part of the pupal body there are sharp spines, which form two strips and diverge from the base of the carapace to the elytra. The extended abdomen tapers to the apex of the IV segment. A large conical urohomphal outgrowth closes with a sharp spine. The length of the pupa is from 16 to 22 mm.
Insect development at all stages
Embryo formation lasts 13-29 days. By mid-July, the eggs have time to turn into larvae. They feed on bark, thereby advancing to the woody layers. After 25-45 days, the larvae are already deep enough in the tree. At this stage of development, insects often creep out into the subcrustal part of the plant and eat sapwood and bast. At this time, trash accumulates in the damaged trunk. Larvae hibernate in tree passages that do not reach the surface by 1–1.5 cm.
Pupation occurs in 15-25 days. An adult black pine barbel gnaws at a flight hole in a tree and goes outside. Pests settle in trees weakened for some reason, fresh windfalls and sawn trunks. The beetle uses them as a shelter and gnaws at those viable pine trees that grow in the steppe forests. It is noticed that the black pine barbel, the photo of which is placed in this article, does not breed and does not settle in stumps.
Harm and methods of struggle
Coniferous trees, especially pine and spruce, are food for the beetle. This served to introduce the insect into the biological group of forest pests. During maturation, barbel is gnawing at pine bark. Larvae destroy wood, bast and sapwood. The result of the vital activity of the black pine barbel is the weakening and subsequent drying of the tree. Larvae damage untreated wood, reduce technical suitability, thereby undermining forestry. The biological methods of extermination of beetles include the attraction of birds that feed on insects.
According to the sanitary rules, there are the following control methods:
- timely conducting selective and clear cutting;
- immediate cleaning of the places where the work was done, namely the removal and debarking of the material;
- systematic sampling of dead and dead forests.
Spruce barbel
This type of insect lives in Europe: from Switzerland, France, the northern regions of Italy and Romania to Ukraine. Beetle can be found on the territory of coniferous massifs. They prefer to live in the mountains, windbreaks and clearings. Adult longhorn beetles feed on the roots and bast of young branches of spruce, pine, fir and other conifers. Arthropod activity lasts from the second part of June to September.
The body of the spruce barbel has the shape of a black cylinder, the length of which in the mature state is 15-37 mm. On the elytra of females, you can see the bright spots where the hairs grow. On pronotum there is a sharp tubercle. The tops of the elytra are not characterized by dense hairy pubescence. Scutellum strewn with bristles, including the midline. The antennae of the female are slightly wrapped behind the elytra and have light rings. In a male, they are twice as long as his body.