Detection tools are needed for Monochamus species (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) because they are known to introduce pine wilt disease by vectoring nematodes in Asia, Europe, and North America. In 2012-2014, we examined the effects of the semiochemicals monochamol and ipsenol on the flight responses of the sawyer beetles Monochamus carolinensis (Olivier), Monochamus clamator (LeConte), Monochamus mutator LeConte, Monochamus notatus (Drury), Monochamus obtusus Casey, Monochamus scutellatus (Say), and Monochamus titillator (F.) complex (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to traps baited with α-pinene. Experiments were set in pine forests in New Brunswick and Ontario (Canada), and Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington (United States). In brief, 40 traps were placed in 10 blocks of 4 traps per block per location. Traps were baited with: 1) α-pinene; 2) α-pinene + monochamol; 3) α-pinene + ipsenol; and 4) α-pinene + monochamol + ipsenol. Monochamol increased catches of six species and one species complex of Monochamus with an additive effect of ipsenol for five species and one species complex. There was no evidence of synergy between monochamol and ipsenol on beetle catches. Monochamol had no effect on catches of other Cerambycidae or on any associated species of bark beetles, weevils, or bark beetle predators. We present a robust data set suggesting that the combination of α-pinene, ipsenol, and monochamol may be a useful lure for detecting Monochamus species.

Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database includes records from 164,293 individual trees with records of fire injury (crown scorch, bole char, etc.), tree diameter, and either mortality or top-kill up to ten years post-fire. Data span 142 species and 62 genera, from 409 fires occurring from 1981-2016. Additional variables such as insect attack are included when available. The FTM database can be used to evaluate individual fire-caused mortality models for pre-fire planning and post-fire decision support, to develop improved models, and to explore general patterns of individual fire-induced tree death. The database can also be used to identify knowledge gaps that could be addressed in future research.

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In 2012, we evaluated the effects of hardwood cerambycid pheromones (syn-2,3-hexanediol, 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, and 3-hydroxyoctan-2-one) on catches of bark and woodboring beetles in ethanol-baited multiple-funnel traps in two field trials in Oregon and Washington, United States of America. Catches of Phymatodes aeneus LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in ethanol-baited traps increased with the addition of 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one lures or the 3,2-hydroxyketone lure blend (3-hydroxyhexan-2-one + 3-hydroxyoctan-2-one). Catches of the predator Thanasimus undatulus (Say) (Coleoptera: Cleridae) in ethanol-baited traps increased with the addition of 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one lures but not syn-2,3-hexanediol lures or 3-hydroxyoctan-2-one lures. The 3,2-hydroxyketone lure blend decreased catches of the corthyline ambrosia beetle, Gnathotrichus sulcatus (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), but not the xyleborine ambrosia beetle, Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg), (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Catches of Ptilinus basalis LeConte (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) in ethanol-baited traps increased with the addition of the 3,2-hydroxyketone lure blend.