Monochamus scutellatus

Studies have shown that several Monochamus species use the pheromones of bark beetles as kairomones to find suitable host habitats quickly and efficiently, enabling them to devote time and energy to other activities.Because saproxylic insects rely on dead or dying wood to complete their life cycles, there must be constant migration between habitats as resources decompose and new areas for colonization appear.[12] As such, if forest management interferes in natural succession patterns, by methods such as clearfelling, they may induce a gap in habitat continuity which can cause localized extinction of a species.[5] The presence of M. scutellatus has been shown to be beneficial in nutrient cycling by affecting microbial activity, the amount of available nitrogen, and the germination of post-fire colonizing flora.[7] Therefore, although wood-boring beetles including M. scutellatus are considered pests of the logging industry, post-fire management strategies should not ignore their importance as nutrient cyclers and facilitators of plant growth.Female M. scutellatus individuals often spend over 20 minutes using their mandibles to chew oviposition holes in the bark of trees, which makes a very loud noise and incurs substantial risk of detection by predators.