Thick bark can protect trees from a severe ambrosia beetle attack

Thick bark has been shown to protect trees from wildfires, but can it protect trees from an ambrosia beetle attack? We addressed this question by examining the distribution of holes of the invasive Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer (KSHB, Euwallacea kuroshio; Coleoptera: Scolytinae) in the bark of Goodding’s black willow (Salix gooddingii), one of the KSHB’s most-preferred hosts. The study was conducted in the Tijuana River Valley, California, in 2016–17, during the peak of the KSHB infestation there. Using detailed measurements of bark samples cut from 27 infested trees, we tested and found support for two related hypotheses: (1) bark thickness influences KSHB attack densities and attack locations, i.e., the KSHB bores abundantly through thin bark and avoids boring through thick bark; and (2) bark thickness influences KSHB impacts, i.e., the KSHB causes more damage to thinner-barked trees than to thicker-barked trees. Our results indicate that thick bark protects trees because it limits the density of KSHB entry points and thereby limits internal structural damage to low, survivable levels. This is the first study to identify bark thickness as a factor that influences the density of KSHB—or any ambrosia beetle—in its host tree, and the first to link bark thickness to rates of host tree mortality.