Bark Beetles and their Natural Enemies on Oriental Spruce from the Black Sea Region of Turkey 1 Cihan Cilbirciog ˘lu 2 and Sabri U ¨ nal 3 J. Agric. Urban Entomol. 28: 42–56 (2012) ABSTRACT Oriental spruce, Picea orientalis (L.) Link. (Pinaceae), is one of the main tree species that naturally grows in the Caucasus Mountains and the northeastern part of Turkey, known as the Black Sea Region. This tree species reaches optimal growth in the mountainous areas of heavy precipitation in Ordu, Giresun, Rize, Trabzon, and Artvin Provinces of the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey, but it can tolerate a wide range of climatic zones. The bark beetle species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) that attack oriental spruce, and their predators and parasitoids, were studied in Turkey in 2005– 2006. Twenty-three species of bark beetles belonging to six subtribes and two tribes of Scolytinae were identified. In addition, 84 predatory species from 21 families and 23 parasitoid species from five families were detected. Identification of these predatory and parasitic species is an important starting point for the biological control of bark beetles attacking oriental spruce in Turkey. KEY WORDS Pinaceae, Scolytinae, parasitoid, predator, survey Oriental spruce, Picea orientalis (L.) Link. (Pinaceae), is present from Ordu Province in Turkey northeastward to the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains in the country of Georgia. This species is semi-tolerant of shade and reaches optimal growth under climactic conditions of year-round heavy precipitation and high humidity. However, oriental spruce is able to grow in semi-drought conditions, but long summer droughts adversely affect growth because sufficient moisture may not be acquired by the shallow root system (Ata 1980). Various species of beetles, including several bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), attack oriental spruce (Bodenheimer 1958). Poor silvicultural practices, such as heavy pasturage, illegal cutting, and precipitous land structure, can promote population increases of bark beetles to epidemic levels (Yu ¨ ksel 1998). Additionally, the effect of natural enemies could likely explain the drastic fluctuations of bark beetle populations (Reeve 1997, Erbilgin et al. 2002, Gilbert & Gre ´goire 2003) within this region. In similar systems in North America and Europe, habitat fragmentation can increase the number of pests relative to predators, such as Thanasimus spp. (Cleridae), in isolated patches of forests (Ryall & Fahig 2005, Warze ´e et al. 2006). 1 Accepted for publication 30 October 2012. 2 Corresponding author; Kastamonu University, Tas ¸ko ¨pru ¨ High School, Organic Agriculture Depart- ment, Kastamonu 37100, Turkey. E-mail: cihancilbirci@hotmail.com 3 Kastamonu University, Forestry Faculty, Forest Protection and Entomolgy, Mainbranch 37100, Kastamonu, Turkey. E-mail: aunal@gazi.edu.tr 42