Dear All,
   I wish to make a few general comments about insects and trees.
   There seems to be a general perception that insects which attack
trees move about largely when logs or firewood is moved. While this
no doubt can happen insects often move without human help. Compared
to insects we are the new kid on the block; thus they got around
without our help.
   If you fell a healthy White Pine on a calm, warm sunny day it
will soon attract an assortment of insects laying eggs in or on the
bark free (smooth thin "bark"; just undifferentiated epidermis) as
opposed to the thicker multi layered bark followed by Cleridae
looking for a meal of insects, eggs or to lay eggs where the young
will likely find larvae or eggs to eat.
   (Drawing on memory so details may be faulty.) Cut a small Ash
(smooth bark) and leave it where it was but leaning against another
small Ash and within one fine day (sometimes hours) the cut Ash will
have any small round holes and the intact tree will be without holes.
   Thus tree health conditions interaction with insects.
Dave Kentville
On 5/1/2021 12:03 PM, Donna Crossland wrote:
From Doug's observations on the North Mountain, it sounds like the
Beech Leaf-mining Weevil (/Orchestes fagi/) a.k.a. "Evil Weevil", as
coined by folks in Eskasoni, is already out and ready to pounce on
new beech leaves as soon as they unfold. How sad.
The weevil is ramping up to attack the American beech trees again
this spring; what few remain and thrive after the much earlier
introduction of beech bark disease, an invasion from Europe nearly a
century ago.
If it is gathering on the North Mountain, it is also out in the
warmer parts of the Annapolis Valley. I have yet to see this part
of the life cycle, so will head out to search for it this weekend.Â
I am curious about the reported clicking sounds they make. Do you
hear them, Doug? The beech trees are not ready to leaf out yet, so
maybe the weevil will find itself out of sync and starve. That
would be nice.
If I stand out there with a large vacuum cleaner when they are
swarming...? I guess that sounds desperate and futile... So many
of these weevils are likely being moved about on firewood as little
stowaways. I hope our provincial parks will switch to providing
firewood to perhaps keep out infested firewood imports with campers
and keep out the weevil for as long as they can. Valley View Park
will most certainly be devastated, and likely soon. I hope they
have a plan.
Donna
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: [Naturens] Re: CBC: Emerald Ash Borer in Bedford
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2021 21:21:18 -0300
From: Doug Linzey <doug(a)fundymud.com>
To: naturens(a)chebucto.ns.ca
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
<mailto:peter@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
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