What are the natural enemies of bark beetles?
Bark beetles have an array of natural enemies. Woodpeckers and other birds may eat some bark beetles. Some insects are known to help control bark beetle populations under endemic (non-outbreak) population conditions. Predaceous beetles such as the blackbellied clerid (Enoclerus lecontei) and a trogositid beetle (Temnochila chlorodia), a predaceous fly (Medetera aldrichii), and parasitic wasps are natural enemies of bark beetles, but rarely control their populations. These insects are known to have some effect on bark beetle populations, but most experts feel that parasites and predators of bark beetles are a minor factor in controlling bark beetles under the current pandemic outbreak. Northern Arizona University is initiating a study to try to understand the relationship between predators (primarily birds) and bark beetles.
