o:8832 Dry or wet? Comparing black slot trap efficiency in spruce bark beetles control en Abstract: Bark beetles are one of the greatest threats to coniferous forests in Europe. Pheromone traps are currently the most effective method of controlling the mass infestations that some of them are known to cause. However, the efficiency of pheromone traps has not yet been sufficiently researched, especially in relation to other important variables that are influenced by the current global changes. Ips typographus L. and Pityogenes chalcographus L. are two economically important bark beetle species that cause major damage to conifers in Serbia. In the present study, we evaluate the efficiency of two commonly used pheromone traps set during a three-year experiment in the Tara National Park in Serbia. During this period, 672,934 ind. of I. typographus and 2,597,578 ind. of P. chalcographus were caught. Our results show that wet traps were about 1.8 times more efficient than dry traps for both species studied. Furthermore, our results indicate that the optimal temperatures for bark beetle flight are between 22 °C and 26 °C, with substantial swarming behaviour occurring at 16.5 °C. At the same time, the data also show a negative correlation between the number of individuals caught and temperatures above 16 °C, suggesting that temperature is probably not the only key factor influencing bark beetle activity. Keywords: Ips typographus, Pityogenes chalcographus, Black slot trap, National Park Tara, Integrated pest management 1552101 1007-662X 1552099 10.1007/s11676-025-01959-z 2025-12-24T11:40:21.286Z 44 yes 46 Marija Milosavljević 0000-0002-0208-5402 46 Mara Tabaković-Tošić 0000-0003-4436-3236 46 Snežana Stajić 0000-0001-9023-3542 46 Suzana Mitrović 0000-0003-1855-4418 46 Marko Tomić 0000-0002-3854-2142 46 Michal Rindoš 0000-0002-0836-5157 46 Filip Jovanović 0000-0002-4143-2497 application/pdf 84632 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8832 no yes 1 70 92000001 71A05 Journal of Forestry Research 37 Springer Nature 2025