Genome of blue stain fungus evolved to bypass tree defense in mountain pine beetle epidemic

February 17th, 2011 by admin No comments »

B.C. scientists have decoded a genetic secret that could help explain why mountain pine beetles have been able to ravage forests in Western Canada and the United States.

A fungus carried by the tiny beetles weakens a tree’s natural defenses, and has even developed the ability to feed on fungicidal resin chemicals the tree produces to protect itself, the Vancouver-based researchers have discovered.

The fungus is best known for the blue stain it creates in the wood of trees killed by the insects, but little was known about the role it played in the infestation.  Blue stain fungus article

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Pine Beetle Spraying Has 99% Success Rate

February 16th, 2011 by admin 1 comment »

Larimer County’s decimated pine forests leave little doubt that pesticide application are the only way to safeguard your tree.

Think about some options for a second.

Pheremones are under study but unproven in epidemic areas. Larimer county is in a mountain pine beetle epidemic.

Good cultural practices promote vigorous pine trees which can resist pitch tubes. Yet, few think about prevention, right or wrong.

Removing dead and diseased pines trees help. It won’t secure a mature pine to the left of your bay window that frames your view perfectly.

  • Facts:
  • Bark beetle hit ponderosa pine ten fold in 2010.
  • 181,000 acres of pine forest were affected in 2010.
  • Larimer County was harder hit then any other county in Colorado

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Mountain pine beetle infestation in 2010 took hundreds of thousands of acres of ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees in the high county and foothills of Larimer County.

  • Towns hardest hit :
  • Cameron Pass
  • Drake
  • Fort Collins
  • Red Feather Lakes

Crystal Lakes and Glacier View are two HOA’s in western Larimer County that our arborists study./

“We’ve seen 99 percent success rate in Estes, here (Glacier View HOA) and Denver, ” said Jeff Disler, Plant Health Care Consultant.

Permethrin is safer to the environment with a 99 percent success in preventing pine beetles. Carbaryl was favored at Rocky Mountain National Park and other national parks. In tests carbaryl does provide greater two season control then permethrin.

If you have lodgepole pines, the beetle “only” affected 367,000 acres of lodgepole pines, down from 398,00 acres in 2009.

When you are reviewing treatment options, know that they work. Find a qualified tree service, ask good questions and save money.

Tips for saving money:

+ Ask good questions,. Here’s one. Is your tree service a licensed pesticide applicator?
Ask that and establish you know something and talked to other vendors.

+ Get three bids. Prices range between $7 and $40 per tree, according to estimators. On average expect $10 to $12 down to $7 in stands of 50 trees.

+ Good arborists are good money savers. If you spend $5,000 or more on arborist care and tree removal, don’t price shop only. No need to spray if the vendor does it all wrong.

+ Multiple trees slashes your spraying cost substantially.

Larimer County Breaking News : County Hit Hard by beetle kill

February 15th, 2011 by admin No comments »

County hit hard by beetle kill,” sez Coloradoan.

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How to Not Lose 83% of Your Pine Trees

February 11th, 2011 by admin No comments »

Jeff Disler, a Denver based arborist was up in Drake, CO, in western Larimer County helping a homeowner figure out how to save her last ten pine trees.

“She’s been putting out pine beetle pheromone traps the past couple of years, but obviously they are not helping, ” Disler said. He said that 50 of her 60 trees have been or will be removed from the property and even at the very cheap tree removal cost of $120, that still is $6000.

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Compared to a professional spray for about $10 per tree, prevention is always cheaper in epidemic pine beetle areas.

“The thing is, we have over 99 percent success rate in protecting trees so it pays to invest a little in spraying,” Disler said.

Estes Park: Cold enough to kill mountain pine beetle?

February 3rd, 2011 by admin No comments »

2/3/2011

It has dipped to -36 in Rocky Mountain National Park this week. We still think it would take at least a week of temperatures that low to make a difference.

The Estes Park Trail interviewed Kyle Patterson Public Information Officer at Rocky Mountain National Park gives us this information from “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Mountain Pine Beetles in Colorado” from the USFS.

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Montana Not Cold Enough to Kill Mountain Pine Beetle

February 3rd, 2011 by admin 1 comment »

2/3/2011

Is it cold enough in western Montana right now to kill mountain pine beetle? Experts are saying no.

“The magic number is often 30 to 40 below zero,” said Peter Kolb, Montana State University Extension Forester in Missoula.

“The mountain pine beetle has adapted to survive down to around that temperature. When we get colder temperatures for prolonged periods of time, it does stress them. But we haven’t reached the extreme cold that starts to kill bark beetles.”

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Beetle larvae overwinter under the bark of lodgepole pines and ponderosa pine. A unique anti-freeze feature allows pine beetle to retain water in extreme cold.

The epidemic seems to be running its course in Bozeman.  Adult beetle populations dropped dramatically year over year.

Kolb also urged people to remove brood trees.

A mature lodgepole can have 1,000 beetles, capable of producing 80,000 new beetles the following summer. Cutting that tree and stripping its bark (which usually happens when it’s split for firewood or sawn for lumber) should ensure most of those new beetles never make their June appointment with a new host tree.

Read the full story in the Missoulian.

Red Trees

September 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »

In parts of the Rocky Mountain West such as Colorado, Wyoming and Montana  the mountain pine beetle flight is abating or is done for the year. So you notice a tree going red now, September 2010. The tree was attacked this summer, right.

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Actually it was a mountain pine beetle attack last year, that has killed your tree.  MPB tree kill data trails about 12 months.

Not much you can do with the tree now except remove it. In fact city ordinances have popped up across the country requiring you to remove a beetle infested tree. Remember spraying pesticides after the fact is a dead end.

We suggest you contact ServiceMagic to get some quotes on how to remove the tree properly.

One good question to ask a tree removal service is where they are required to dump the tree. The last thing you want it is to be chipped and resold as mulch.  Cities have set up kilns and debarking operations, sometimes at no charge, to assist in efforts

Overall, the MPB season 2010 seems to be have been less severe than last year due to more rain in target areas. More rain creates healthier trees that are more resistant to an attack and may even survive a light hit depending on the cultural practices and the age and species of the pine trees.

However, we won’t know until next year how bad this year truly was.

White Pine Blister Rust and the Pine Beetle

July 27th, 2010 by admin No comments »

White pine blister rust is a disease caused indirectly when mountain pine beetle destroys lower elevation pine stands forcing bears and other critters to higher elevations in search of flood.

I thought the following point about de-forestation was interesting.

“…..The wider ecological effects could be serious. These forests slow the rate of spring snowmelt; without them, the spring runoff will happen faster and streams and rivers will see reduced flow and higher temperatures later in the season…. ”

Full New York Times editorial about the effects of mountain pine beetle on bears.

Pine Beetle Activity – July 18, 2010

July 19th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Hartsel, CO – I was in the Colorado mountains at the Ranch of the Rockies this weekend.  Very little sign of mountain pine little activity.  Hartsel borders Pike and San Isabel national forests, forests not predicted to be a beetle  hotspot in 2010.  We treated  fifty high profile trees at the front entrance of the Ranch of the Rockies in early July because a pine had been hit.  I did see more  beetle hit trees along 285 in Evergreen, CO,  compared to last year, 2009.

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Deadwood, SD - Reports are that the beetle infestation is worse than 2009. Target areas for the USFS prevention strategy, dubbed the Nautilus Project, are in the Black Hills National Forest. Ninety percent of  Custer’s  Peak is dead, fueling fears of a Colorado-type epidemic.  Forest thinning will be aggressive is Nautilus is implemented. More about Black Hills beetle prevention.

Medicine Hat, Alberta – Mountain pine beetle died off in a spring cold snap, giving government officials, lumber workers and tourism boosters hope of a lessening population of beetle.  The numbers appear to be at 2007 levels with the exception of areas in northern Alberta and along the British Columbia border.  The prediction was based on sampling of 1,266 pine trees, from 229 infested sites.

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta – “Beetle survival was low and there is a ‘low probability of local beetle production and spread.  However, there is an extremely high probability of in-flights this summer,’  according to the Prairie Post. More about mountain pine beetle die off in Alberta.

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta

Beetle Activity Predicted to Lessen in Crownsnest Pass in Alberta do to spring cold snap.

Crystal Mountain, CO -  Along the ridges, it is dry and trees are getting hit, turning red, and dying off according to arborist and consultant, Jeff Disler.  Crystal Mountain is in the Roosevelt National Forest,  Larimer County, CO above Fort Collins.

In the valleys, it’s a different story.  Pine stands are pulling water from plentiful standing water,  relieving stress. The stands, about evenly split between ponderosa and lodgepole pines seem better able to “kick out tubes”  or fight off a beetle invasion.   A pine with lighter yellow pitch tubes,  is typically less damaged by attack.

There is also engraver beetle activity at Crystal Mountain.

Is it mountain pine beetle or IPS beetle?

July 5th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Frequently arborists will get a call to check out a pine for mountain pine beetle and find IPS beetle. The IPS beetle doesn’t seem to be as aggressive as MPB and doesn’t seem to swarm into epidemics in the same way.  IPS are distinguished by:

  • sawdust at the base of the tree
  • attacking spruce and pine
  • activity in early spring with two or more generations per year

Tree’s can survive an IPS infestation if treated soon afterward, mountain pine beetle infestations are not treatable and condemn pine trees to an early demise.

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Got a question about your trees? Ask an Arborist for free and get the answers you need.  Subscribe to the monthly email newsletter and receive a free tree care ebook,  the Tree Owners Manual.

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I qualify that with this final thought. The initial pine beetle infestation must be successful.

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