Whether they travel only a few metres or tens of kilometres to a new host tree, female pine beetles use different strategies to find success—with major negative consequences for pine trees, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists.
Whether they travel only a few metres or tens of kilometres to a new host tree, female pine beetles use different strategies to find success—with major negative consequences for pine trees, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists.
The research, led by graduate student Kelsey Jones, examined the relationship between host colonization success by female mountain pine beetles and the distance travelled to find their new homes.
Since the early 1990s, an outbreak of mountain pine beetles has affected more than 18 million hectares of forest in the western provinces. Understanding the behaviour of these beetles is key in developing management strategies to prevent further damage to Alberta’s boreal forest.
“It is hard to predict the continued invasion by the mountain pine beetle using information from this study alone,” said Jones. “However, our work does indicate that beetles which fly for long distances can still call in many fellow beetles to mass attack trees. This indicates that, as beetles move further eastward and forest stands become thinner, they will likely still have the capacity to colonize hosts.”
Read more at University of Alberta
Photo Credit: RondellMelling via Pixabay
