Seasonal history and activity of the bark beetle Scolytus nitidus Schedl (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) on apple trees in Kashmir

Scolytus nitidus Schedl on apple in Kashmir overwintered in all its larval stages by the end of November and remained inactive throughout winter. These resumed their activity at initial silver-tip stage in the Red Delicious cultivar almost always in the first week of March. The larvae pupated at the pinkbud stage and the first swarm of adults appeared at the completion of petal fall in the third week of April with three generations in an year. Larvae from the second swarm of adults in late July and early August entered the winter months along with third generation larvae when most of the leaves had fallen off from almost all trees by November. Thus the scolytid overwintered coinciding the dormancy of the host, and the emergence of first generation adults considerably prolonged with second and third generations overlapping with each other.