What is a spruce beetle?

spruce beetle, dendroctonus rufipennis is a very small beetle that plunges into the bark of certain types of spruce trees. This species is originally from North America with high concentrations found in New Scotland, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec; It is also located in some northern areas of the US. Fully adult spruce beetles are not a length of no more than 0.75 inches (0.64 cm) and is often difficult to see. Usually, the presence of these pests is known for the first time, it is serious damage caused by the trees that inhabit. Trees infested with these destructive insects often die.

The spruce beetle prefers some types of spruce, including white and network of trees, but tends to avoid black spruce; Occasionally, they also think. He lives in a phloem, a relatively thin layer of active growing wood. This layer is between the bark and the core of the solid wood of the tree. Spruce beetle kills many trees that infest, but because they do not dig deeper into the wood of the tree can be wood oftenrescued after the tree dies. All internal wood can usually be used commercially if it is harvested in a reasonable time frame.

A large tree that organizes a population of spruce beetles can have 100 or more of these insects for each square foot of the bark. In the summer, a spruce beetle comes from an existing host tree and flies to other trees in this area. They usually live in dying or damaged trees, but if they are not available, the spruce beetle sets up a residence in any spruce that it can find.

Human activity often supports the spread of spruce beetle. They can live in firewood and slash of a pile of debris remaining from logging. If the conditions are favorable, insects will appear from these places and find new homes in living trees elsewhere in the forest. Once based in an area, pests can kill trees year after year, causing damage to both trees and economic stability of the region.

The spruce beetle causes great damage in areas that infest. In the US, Alaska lost millions of acres of forest and at the age of 90, Maine reported a loss of about 90% of larger trees in some areas. People can help minimize spread by not storing firewood for more than a year. Any cut wood should be cut off, divided and dried to kill all spruce beetles that can infest it.