Data from: Quantifying dispersal of a non-aggressive saprophytic bark beetle

We performed a mark-recapture experiment to examine patterns of adult dispersal in Hylurgus ligniperda (F.) (Coleoptera: Scolytinae), a non-aggressive, saprophytic bark beetle. The experiment took place in a clearcut pine, Pinus radiata D. Don forest in the central North Island, New Zealand, during February to May 2014. Both flight-naïve and flight-experienced H. ligniperda were released in the center of a circular trap grid that extended to 960 m with 170 or 200 panel traps baited with alpha-pinene and ethanol. Of the 18,464 marked H. ligniperda in 12 releases, 9,209 (49.9%) of the released beetles flew, and 96 (1.04%) of the beetles that flew were recaptured. Males and females were recaptured at all distances. The recapture of flight-experienced beetles declined with dispersal distance, and mechanistic diffusion models showed heterogeneous dispersal tendencies within the population. Our best model estimates that 46% (CI95: 19% - 63%) of flight-experienced beetles disperse > 1 km, and 1.6% > 5 km (CI95: 0.02% - 11%). Equal recapture of flight-naive beetles at all distances suggests that emerging H. ligniperda may require a period of flight to initiate chemotropic orientation behavior and subsequent attraction to traps. Quantitative estimation of the distribution of dispersal distances can be used to model the dispersal process of bark beetles and contributes to the management of phytosanitary risks. For instance, combining landscape knowledge of source populations with dispersal processes facilitates estimation of pest pressure at economically sensitive areas such as harvests and timber storage sites. Quantitative dispersal estimates also inform pest risk assessments by predicting spread rates for H. ligniperda that has proven establishment capabilities in other countries