Latest Woodboring beetles Stories

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Emerald Ash Borer beetle has been discovered in Bucks, Franklin, Jefferson, Perry, Snyder and Venango counties. With these new finds, 28 counties are now dealing with the invasive ash tree-killing pest. "Emerald Ash Borer beetles have plagued Pennsylvania since 2007 with new positive sites found each year," said Agriculture Secretary George Greig. "You can help prevent the further spread of these pests by not hauling firewood...

A recent report analyzing a range of published studies on the impact of bark beetles on trees in the U.S. and Canada provides a more complete picture of the effect of this destructive insect on wildfires. Previously published studies reported a wide variety of—and often contradictory—conclusions about the bark beetles' effect on fuels and wildfire. A team of researchers from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research and Pacific Northwest Research stations and the University...

Brett Smith for RedOrbit.com Activity of the bark beetle is having an impact on both air quality and climate, according to a new report from a team of American scientists published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Evidence of the beetle’s impact can be seen in the lodgepole pine forests of the western United States. Many of the trees there are dying or ravaged by the beetles and a faint haze of particulate matter can be seen throughout the area. Air samples...

The hordes of bark beetles that have bored their way through more than 6 billion trees in the western U.S. and British Columbia since the 1990s do more than damage and kill stately pine, spruce and other trees. A new study finds that these pests can make trees release up to 20 times more of the organic substances that foster haze and air pollution in forested areas. It appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology. Kara Huff Hartz, Gannet Hallar and colleagues explain that...

ARLINGTON, Va., May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As Memorial Day kicks off the vacation and camping season, another summer event takes place: adult emerald ash borers emerge from ash trees to mate and lay eggs. These invasive tree-killing beetles can spread when moved to new locations in contaminated firewood by vacationing Americans. Often described as one of the most destructive insects to ever invade this country, the emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the...

'Fusarium dieback' severely damaged avocados in Israel, says UC Riverside plant pathologist Akif Eskalen, who identified the fungus A plant pathologist at the University of California, Riverside has identified a fungus that has been linked to the branch dieback and general decline of several backyard avocado and landscape trees in residential neighborhoods of Los Angeles County. The fungus is a new species of Fusarium . Scientists are working on characterizing its specific...

Climate change puts spruce forests at greater risk of bark beetle attacks Climate change appears to be good news for destructive bark beetles, according to a new study by Lorenzo Marini from the University of Padova in Italy, and his team. Their work, published online in Springer's Climatic Change, shows that there were more attacks by the spruce bark beetle on European Alpine spruce forests over a 16 year period, as temperatures rose and rainfall dropped. Shifts in temperature,...

HARRISBURG, Pa., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will be pooling its varied expertise Wednesday in a workshop targeting the emerald ash borer at Greenwood Furnace State Park in Huntingdon County, where the invasive insect is endangering more than 100 ash trees. "This exercise will see entomologists and foresters from our Bureau of Forestry working closely with our Bureau of State Parks' managers and biologists to...

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Methods to combat an invasive beetle proving deadly to Pennsylvania's ash trees will be showcased April 27 at an Arbor Day celebration at West Chester's Hoopes Park, where no less than 75 stately ash trees grace the grounds. "For the past 23 years, West Chester's dedication to trees has earned it an annual Arbor Day Tree City U.S.A. Award," said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Richard...

Periodic outbreaks of bark beetles can cause annual losses of millions of dollars and pose serious challenges for forest managers, and the suppression of outbreaks is particularly difficult and expensive. According to T. D. Schowalter, author of a new open-access article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management called "Ecology and Management of Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Southern Pine Forests," preventative measures are most effective in minimizing losses...