Description
Foreword
Scolytid beetles, commonly known as “bark beetles“, are remarkable insects in several respects. For the ecologist, they exhibit a fascinating multitude of adaptions in host selection behaviour and intriguing Systems of chemical communication enable them through concerted attack to colonize suitable host trees. For the forester they represent the potientially most dangerous group of insects as tree killers, wood borers, and vectors of diseases alike. Sabine Grüne presents with her „Brief Illustrated Key to European Bark Beetles“ a unique and timely contribution to scolytid taxonomy. A major research effort in the field of pheromone biology and pest management of bark beetles at the Institute of Forest Zoology, University of Freiburg, indicated the need for a comprehensive but pragmatic treatise, that allows the identification of bark beetles more efficiently. The author managed this task with consequence and style. Brief descriptions and distinct drawings are limited to such morphological characteristics which are needed in differential diagnosis.
Freiburg, May 1979 Prof. Dr. J.P. Vité
