Byers, J.A. & Löfqvist, J. 1989. Flight initiation and survival in the bark beetle Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) during the spring dispersal. Holarctic Ecology 12:432-440.

Abstract-- Temperatures in the forest litter of Norway spruce Picea abies were recorded throughout the day to obtain environmental parameters that could be used to design realistic flight-activity experiments in the laboratory. Flight activity and survival were monitored electronically in plastic chambers where the conditions were controlled by an environmental chamber. Flight attempts of the bark beetle Ips typographus were initially lower in chambers with forest duff but were prolonged compared with those of beetles in chambers with a metal screen substrate. Small bark slabs and spruce twigs in the duff were utilized as food and extended the period of flight and survival. A thermal gradient in duff from 25 degrees C at the surface down to 13.8 degrees C at a depth of 4 cm also slightly increased the survival of beetles compared with a constant 25 degrees. A daily ambient temperature cycle as well as the duff thermal gradient increased the survival from about 3 d to more than 8 d. The latter length in the laboratory agreed with survival rates of caged beetles in a clearcut forest area, while beetles caged in the forest survival for more than 14 d. Temperatures were monitored at the duff surface of the caged beetles and compared with the catches of beetles that were attracted to a pheromone trap and collected with an electronic fraction collector. Information on flight and survival during the dispersal period is necessary to the design of ecologically sound management programs for control of bark beetles.
Flight chambers, with duff or bare floor with take-off platforms (small plastic cubes)
Chemical Ecology