Chemical Analyses of the Dead Wood Eaten by the Larvae of Ceruchus lignarius and Prismognathus angularis (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

The contents of chemical components (alkaline extractives, ethanol/benzene extractives, holocellulose and lignin) were determined for the dead wood in which the larvae of Ceruchus lignarius (brown rot specialist) or Prismognathus angularis (decay type generalist) occurred. The variations of chemical components were small in the samples of C. lignarius and relatively large in those of P. angularis. It was established that C. lignarius occurred exclusively in the brown rotten wood in advanced stage of decay, whereas the occurrence of P. angularis was not as clearly associated with either decay type or its stage.