LIFE-HISTORY OF THE JACK PINE TIP BEETLE, CONOPHTHORUS-BANKSIANAE MCPHERSON (COLEOPTERA, SCOLYTIDAE) - IMPLICATIONS FOR SPECIES STATUS

The jack pine tip beetle, Conophthorus banksianae McPherson (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), has been distinguished from its sibling species, C. resinosae Hopkins, partly because immature stages were present in the field longer and because it may be bivoltine. A life history study of the tip beetle revealed it is univoltine, overwintering as an adult. The developmental period of C. banksianae from eggs to adults is about the same as that for C. resinosae. As in C. resinosae, adult C. banksianae usually mate in the spring, but some mate the previous fall. Mating occurs on or in the host. Female-biased sex ratios are found consistently throughout the life cycle of C. banksianae and in overwintering adults of C. resinosae. In Ontario, oviposition galleries are initiated in the old shoots until mid-June, thereafter in new shoots. Peak oviposition is completed before new shoots have fully elongated. The very similar life history traits of C. banksianae and C. resinosae suggest the species are closely related, if not the same species as recently proposed.