Entomology Branch, Forest Protection Division, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, 248006, Uttarakhand, India
*Email: gauravramola30@gmail.com (corresponding author)
Online Published on 17 May, 2023.
Biology of Xylotrechus basifuliginosus (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera: Clytini) was studied on its host Kharsu oak Quercus semecarpifolia Smith. It has an annual lifecycle with five larval instars. Beetles emerge at the onset of the rainy season (June-July) under natural conditions at 2600-2800 m. Females soon after copulation lay up to 34 eggs in cervices and covered depressions on the bark of oak trees. The larval period is 269 days under natural conditions. The growing larvae feed in the sapwood up to December and thereafter go into hibernation (end of December-mid of March) in larval galleries. Pupation is triggered by sudden rise in temperature in spring (end of March), pupal period is ~94 days. The beetles emerge from the pupal chamber by chewing the bark and making a circular exit-hole (5 mm dia). The adult morphology (both sexes) and male genitalia, are described and compared with its congeners X. smei and X. stebbingi also known from northern India, besides the morphology of egg, larval and pupal stages.
Xylotrechus basifuliginosus, Cerambycidae, Quercus semecarpifolia, Garhwal, Stem borer, Oak, Male genitalia, Seasonality, Lifecycle, Moist temperate forest, Feeding pattern
