THE PIGEON TREMEX, TREMEX COLUMBA (HYMENOPTERA: SIRICIDAE), IN NEW BRUNSWICK

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Abstract
In New Brunswick, Tremex columba (Linnaeus) has a minimum life cycle of 2 years. Adults oviposit most commonly in weakened or injured beech trees (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart) from about 15 August to 15 October and lay two to five eggs in each oviposition hole. The blackish eggs either hatch in 2–4 weeks or hatch the next May or early June. The larvae tunnel in wood infected with the fungus Daedalea unicolor Buller ex Fries. This fungus is closely associated with each stage of female development. Eggs laid in the absence of the fungus hatch but the larvae do not develop beyond the first instar. T. columba passes the second winter in the larval stage and the adults begin to emerge in August. During each year of observation, males began emerging before females. The emerging females often lay eggs in the galleries and the progenies are male. Three species of Megarhyssa are the chief parasites of T. columba larvae in New Brunswick.