Fungus-mutualism
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Trypodendron betulae
birch ambrosia beetle
Trypodendron betulae, the birch ambrosia beetle, is a North American ambrosia beetle in the family Curculionidae. It attacks standing stressed sub-canopy birch trees, particularly paper birch (Betula papyrifera). Male and female pairs construct galleries in sapwood where they cultivate symbiotic Ambrosiella fungi for larval nutrition. The species has a female-produced aggregation pheromone blend of (3S,6R)-trans- and (3R,6R)-cis-linalool oxide pyranoid, which chemically isolates it from sympatric Trypodendron species. Adults emerge in September and overwinter in leaf litter.