OBSERVATIONS OF THE BIOLOGY OF CAMPTOCERUS DEJEAN (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE: SCOLYTINAE) IN PERU

The ambrosia beetle genus Camptocerus Dejean is native to the Neotropics and ranges from northern Argentina to Veracruz, Mexico. Species arc rarely collected and there is a corresponding paucity of biological information. We report observations of Camptocerus attracted to felled Protium Burm. f. in southeastern Peru. Host colonization, aggregation, leaf feeding, courtship, mating, and predation are reported for four species. These species aggregated to leaves surrounding potential hosts, bored into leaves, and fed, all of which is unusual behavior for scolytines. Males competed for mates with physical contact. Ant predation killed similar to 50% of colonizing individuals for one species.