Bouget Christophe, Brustel Hervé, Nageleisen Louis-Michel
Unité Ecosystèmes Forestiers, Cemagref-Institut de Recherche pour l'Ingénierie de l'Agriculture et de l'Environnement, Domaine des Barres, 45290 Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France.
C R Biol. 2005 Oct-Nov;328(10-11):936-48. doi: 10.1016/j.crvi.2005.08.003. Epub 2005 Sep 12.
The terminology of ecological groups in saproxylic insects (organisms depending on dying or dead wood) is used ambiguously by forest entomologists. We therefore propose a standardized typology of wood-eating groups, based on two crossed factors, i.e. nature and physiological status of woody tissues. We define primary and secondary xylophagous insects (corticiphagous, cambiophagous, xylemophagous), as well as saproxylophagous species. Insects indirectly related to dead wood are classified according to (i) the food regime: consumers of wood-associated resources (xylomycophagous, xylomycetophagous, opophagous), commensals (scavengers), predators, or (ii) the microhabitat users (fongicolous, cavicolous, succicolous).