Comparison of Beetle Communities in Pest Control and Non-control Areas of Pine Wilt Disease-affected Forests

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to understand the effects of pest control on forest ecosystems by examining the populations of beetles, a bioindicatorspecies, in pine wilt disease-affected areas. Density and diversity of beetles at the pest control (sites 1 and 2) and control (site 3) siteswere compared. Site 1 contained 247 individuals of 11 species from 5 families, site 2 contained 461 individuals of 19 species from 9families, and control site 3 contained 511 individuals of 19 species from 9 families. The following main species were collected from eachsite: 34 pine jewel beetles(Chalcophora japonica) in June, 23 red flat bark beetles(Synuchus cycloderus) in August, and 42 red flat barkbeetles in September from site 1, 46 pine jewel beetles in June, 36 elegant beetles(Carabus jankowskii) in August, and 21 elegant beetlesin September from site 2, and 31 red ground beetles(Coptolabrus smaragdinus) in June, 56 two-spotted dust beetles(Planetes puncticeps)in August, and 30 two-spotted dust beetles in September from site 3. Furthermore, diversity, evenness, and dominance indices were analyzedfor all beetles collected from the pest control and control sites. Site 1 exhibited a diversity index of 0.706, evenness index of 0.711, anddominance index of 0.161. Site 2 exhibited a diversity index of 1.115, evenness index of 0.872, and dominance index of 0.097. Site 3exhibited a diversity index of 1.101, evenness index of 0.861, and dominance index of 0.102. Similarity index was 47.4% between sites1 and 2, 33.3% between sites 1 and 3, and 40.0% between sites 2 and 3