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Encyclopedia > Ambrosia beetle
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Ambrosia beetles
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Subfamily: Scolytinae, Platypodinae
Genus: Platypus, Xylosandrus, Xyleborus,...
Species

many For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Animalia redirects here. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Wikispecies has information related to: Coleoptera Beetles are the most diverse group of insects. ... Subgroups See Subgroups of Curculionidae. ... Genera See text. ... Wikispecies has information related to: Xyleborus Xyleborus is a genus of beetles, order Coleoptera, one of which () causes pear blight. ...

Wikispecies has information related to:
Platypodinae

Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), which live in nutritional symbiosis with ambrosia fungi. The beetles excavate tunnels in dead trees in which they cultivate fungal gardens, their sole source of nutrition. An ambrosia beetle excavates a tunnel in which it releases spores of its fungal symbiont. The fungus penetrates the plant's xylem tissues, digests it, and concentrate nutrients. The majority of ambrosia beetles infest xylem (sapwood and/or heartwood) of dying or recently dead trees. Species differ in the preferred part of tree, in the shape of their tunnels (“galleries”) or in the preferred physical features of their host, but the majority of ambrosia beetles are not specialized to any taxonomic group of hosts, unlike majority of phytophagous organisms. GFDL Wikispecies logo File links The following pages link to this file: Solanaceae Species Asterias Homo (genus) Human Wikipedia:Template messages/Links Wikipedia:Template messages/All Homo floresiensis User talk:Tuneguru Template:Wikispecies Categories: GFDL images ... Wikispecies is a sister project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation that anybody can edit with a great potential use to students and researchers. ... Families Nemonychidae - pine flower weevils Anthribidae - fungus weevils Belidae - primitive weevils Attelabidae - leaf rolling weevils Brentidae - straight snout weevils Caridae Ithyceridae - New York weevil Curculionidae - true weevils Wikispecies has information related to: Curculionoidea A weevil is a beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. ... Genera See text. ... For other uses, see Beetle (disambiguation). ... Subgroups See Subgroups of Curculionidae. ... Common Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) in their Magnificent sea anemone (Heteractis magnifica) home. ... This article is about a biological reproductive structure; for the video game, see Spore (video game). ... In vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue in plants, phloem being the other one. ... Phagy or phagia is an ecological term that is used to identify particular nutritional systems. ...


Beetles and their larvae graze on mycelium exposed on the gallery walls and on bodies called sporodochia, clusters of the fungus’ spores. Ambrosia beetles don’t ingest the wood tissue; instead the sawdust resulting from the excavation (called frass) is pushed out of the gallery. Following the larval and pupal stage, adult ambrosia beetles collect masses of spores of the fungal symbiont into their mycangia and leave the gallery to find their own tree. Larvae are the plural of larva, juvenile form of animals with indirect development. ... Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching threadlike hyphae that exists below the ground or within another substrate. ... The term mycangium is used in biology for special structures on the body of an animal that are adapted for the transport of symbiotic fungi (usually in spore form). ...

Contents

Taxonomy

Until recently ambrosia beetles have been placed in independent families Scolytidae and Platypodidae, however, they are in fact some of the most highly derived weevils.[1] There are currently about 3,000 species of beetles employing the ambrosia strategy, most of them from the subfamily Platypodinae and the subtribe Xyleborina of subfamily Scolytinae, and numerous smaller groups within Scolytinae. Note that the term ambrosia beetle does not denote a taxonomic group, and the ambrosia habit is an example of convergent evolution, in that several groups evolved the same symbiotic relationship independently.[2] The highest diversity of ambrosia beetles is in the tropics. In the palearctic ecozone, the dominant groups are Platypodinae, and the scolytine tribes Xyleborina and Scolytoplatypodina, in the neotropics, Platypodinae and Xyleborina are joined by Corthylina. Ambrosial fauna in temperate regions is rather limited, dominated by Xyleborina, some Xyloterina and Corthylina. Families Nemonychidae Anthribidae Belidae Attelabidae Brentidae Caridae Ithyceridae Curculionidae A weevil is a beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. ... The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map). ... Ecozones are global divisions which have their own characteristic interplay of climatic factors, morphodynamics, soil-forming processes, living conditions for plants and animals, and production potentials for agriculture and forestry. ... The Neotropic ecozone is a terrestrial ecoregion which includes South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. ... For the usage in virology, see temperate (virology). ...


Symbiotic relationship

A few dozen species of ambrosia fungi have been described, currently in the polyphyletic genera Ambrosiella, Rafaella and Dryadomyces (all from Ophiostomatales, Ascomycetes). Many more species remain to be discovered. Little is known about the bionomy or specificity of ambrosia fungi. Ambrosia fungi are thought to be dependent on transport and inoculation provided by their beetle symbionts, as they have not been found in any other habitat. All ambrosia fungi are probably asexual and clonal.[3] Look up habitat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about human asexuality; asexual reproduction is a separate topic. ...


During the evolution of this symbiotic lifestyle, most scolytid and all platypodid groups became progressively more dependent on fungi regularly cohabiting dead trees. This evolution had various outcomes in different groups:

  • Some phloem-eating bark beetles (phloeophages) are able to attack and kill live trees since their fungal symbiont is an aggressive phytopathogen.[4]
  • Many of phloem-feeding bark beetles use phloem-infesting fungi as an addition to their diet; some phloeophages became more or less dependent on such a mixed diet and evolved mycangia to transport their symbionts from maternal trees to newly infested trees.[5] These beetles are called mycophloeophages.
  • The closest association evolved between ambrosia beetles and ambrosia fungi, where both the beetle and the fungus are completely dependent on each other in multiple stages of life.[6]

In vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients, particularly sucrose, to all parts of the plant where needed. ... Phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious diseases) and environmental conditons (non-infectiousness). ... The term mycangium is used in biology for special structures on the body of an animal that are adapted for the transport of symbiotic fungi (usually in spore form). ...

References

  1. ^ Kuschel, G., R. A. B. Leschen, et al. (2000): Platypodidae under scrutiny. Invertebrate Taxonomy 14: 771-805.
    Marvaldi, A. E., A. S. Sequeira, et al. (2002): Molecular and Morphological Phylogenetics of Weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea): Do Niche Shifts Accompany Diversifcation? Systematic Biology 51(5): 761-785.
  2. ^ Farrell, B. D., A. S. O. Sequeira, et al. (2001): The evolution if agriculture in beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae). Evolution 55: 2011-2027.
  3. ^ Malloch, D., and M. Blackwell. 1993. Dispersal biology of ophiostomatoid fungi. p. 195-206. In: Ceratocystis and Ophiostoma: Taxonomy, Ecology and Pathology. Eds., Wingfield, M.J., K.A. Seifert, and J.F. Webber. APS, St. Paul.
  4. ^ Paine, T. D., K. F. Raffa, et al. (1997): Interactions between scolytid bark beetles, their associated fungi and live host conifers. Annual Review of Entomology 42: 179-206.
  5. ^ Klepzik, K. D. and D. L. Six (2004): Bark Beetle - Fungal Symbiosis: Context Dependency in Complex Associations. Symbiosis 37: 189-205.
  6. ^ Beaver, R. A. (1989): Insect-Fungus Relationship in the Bark and Ambrosia Beetles. Insect-Fungus Interactions. N. Wilding, N. M. Collins, P. M. Hammond and J. F. Webber, Academic Press: 121-143.

Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ...

External Links

  • The MSU HISL database contains Xyleborina-related information from the Catalog of Scolytidae and Platypodidae of Wood &Bright (1987) Wood, S.L. and D.E. Bright. 1987.

  Results from FactBites:
 
Ambrosia - LoveToKnow 1911 (278 words)
Roscher thinks that both nectar and ambrosia were kinds of honey, in which case their power of conferring immortality would be due to the supposed healing and cleansing power of honey (see further Nectar).
The name Ambrosia was also applied by Dioscorides and Pliny to certain herbs, and has been retained in modern botany for a genus of plants from which it has been extended to the group of dicotyledons called Ambrosiaceae, including Ambrosia, Xanthium and Iva, all annual herbaceous plants represented in America.
Ambrosia beetles bore deep though minute galleries into trees and timber, and the wood-dust provides a bed for the growth of the fungus, on which the insects and larvae feed.
Redbay Ambrosia Beetle-Laurel Wilt Fungus: A Potential Major Problem for Florida Avocados (2452 words)
Ambrosia beetles are members of the insect tribe Xyleborini and are known for attacking various woody plants, causing some limb and stem dieback and sometimes plant death.
Research is continuing to evaluate the degree of avocado variety susceptibility to attack by the redbay ambrosia beetle and the extent of damage or death from the laurel wilt fungus.
Mayfield III, A.E. The Redbay Ambrosia Beetle, Xylegorus glabratus Eichhoff (Scolytinae: Curculionidae).
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