Abstract
We reviewed the ecological traits of bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae), focusing on factors such as diets, mating systems, gallery systems, and sociality. Beetles were divided into two diet groups. One group consisted of bark beetles that bore into various plant parts to feed on the underlying tissues. The other group consisted of an ambrosia beetle that bores into wood to feed on symbiotic microorganisms cultivated on the gallery walls. Beetles used one of four possible mating systems: female-initiated monogyny, inbreeding polygyny, harem polygyny, and male-initiated monogyny. Reproductive characteristics observed also included haplodiploidy, pseudogamous parthenogenesis, and thelytoky. The gallery systems created by beetle groups generally reflected their respective diets and mating systems. Eusociality was observed in a beetle of Platypodinae, Austroplatypus incomperus, where the female adults formed the sterile caste. We also introduced the observation of altruism in the larvae of Platypus quercivorus. Finally, we discussed the importance of developing artificial rearing methods that allow researchers to directly observe the ecological traits of beetles as they feed in their gallery systems.
