Ambrosia beetle
subfamily of insects
Ambrosia beetles are beetles of the weevil subfamilies Scolytinae and Platypodinae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae. They live in symbiosis with ambrosia fungi and bacteria. The beetles make tunnels in dead trees where they grow fungal gardens for nutrition.
During their evolution, most weevils became more or less dependant on fungi. Some bark beetles that ate phloem are using more fungi.[1][2] These beetles are called mycophloeophages.
References
change- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Klepzik, K. D. and D. L. Six (2004): Bark Beetle – Fungal Symbiosis: Context Dependency in Complex Associations. Symbiosis 37: 189-205.
Other websites
change
Wikispecies has information on: Platypodinae.
- Images and information Archived 2018-08-29 at the Wayback Machine on the Ambrosia beetle at the University of Florida.
- The MSU HISL database Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine contains a species list
- American Bark and Ambrosia Beetles