SPATIAL VARIATION IN DAMAGE DISPERSION, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DAMAGE INTENSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF THE PINE WEEVIL (HYLOBIUS-ABIETIS L)

Damage caused by the pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) to recently planted Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr.) was assessed at 82 forest sites in Northern Ireland. Adult weevil numbers were estimated at each site by billet trapping. An examination of within site variation in damage dispersion suggested that single point or transect assessment of variation provided a reliable estimate of damage over a limited area. However, there was a marked temporal effect on estimation efficiency. Variation in damage between sites and weevil abundance was related although much intrasite variation remains unexplained.