On Wednesday, a fine sunny, warm day, our south-facing windows were covered
with little black randomly moving spots, which proved to be *Orchestes fagi*,
Beech leaf-mining weevils. They're waiting impatiently for the beech leaves
to emerge and turn much of our property into what you describe, Peter --
dead beech trees. They began the insult last year, and this year I expect a
pretty thin canopy by the end of June. That, plus a change in the way water
accumulates and sticks around more than it used to, causing some tree
dieoff, not to mention much higher and regular winds (and a neighbour who
would rather have a well-groomed yard than those pesky natural trees)
causing blowdown, all adds up to a seriously challenged bit of forest here
on the N. Mountain. Can't wait for the Emerald Ash Borer!
Doug
Arlington, Kings Co.
On Fri, Apr 30, 2021 at 3:28 PM Peter Payzant <peter(a)payzant.net> wrote:
CBC had a disheartening story yesterday about the
presence of the Emerald
Ash Borer in Bedford. It seems that it's now just a matter of time before
ash trees in the province are history.
The forest behind our home opened up tremendously with the deaths of all
the Beech trees; Ash trees are one of the more common remaining deciduous
species.
You can read the story here
<https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/emerald-ash-borer-halifax-bedford-1.6005910>
.
--- Peter Payzant
Waverley
_______________________________________________
Naturens mailing list -- naturens(a)chebucto.ns.ca
To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave(a)chebucto.ns.ca