Newcomer beetle is not welcome in Washington State

The California fivespined ips is killing ponderosa pines in parts of Washington state.

It’s not a pretty creature, but the young California fivespined Ips (CFI) larvae have found delicious edibles to chomp through in Washington State.

In 2010, this pine engraver beetle was recorded for the first time in Washington State. Native to California and Oregon, the CFI has damaged and killed numerous ponderosa pines in the Columbia River Gorge. It hits them when they’re down on their luck and stressed from drought, storms, or fire damage.

How it starts
The adult male bores its way through the bark of ponderosa pine, creating a mating chamber; usually three adult females come in for a visit (really to mate); each female then lays eggs along the sides of her own tunnel, making the Y-shaped gallery characteristic of CFI. The eggs hatch, and the babies start to nibble on the inner bark as they grow.

The outbreaks of CFI have been found on both banks of the Columbia River near White Salmon and have resulted in unusually high levels of mortality in ponderosa pine. DNR, Washington State University (WSU) Extension, the U.S. Forest Service, and several private landowners have cooperated to monitor the distribution and flight periods of CFI in Washington.

A ghastly close up of the California fivespined Ips

In 2010 and 2011, high numbers of CFI were collected along the Columbia River from White Salmon west to Vancouver. They also have found low numbers of CFI as far north as Lacey and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, west of the Cascades, and at Trout Lake, east of the Cascades.

You can learn more about this unsightly, tiny beetle to make sure your ponderosa pines stay healthy. Early monitoring results were used to produce the 2012 WSU Extension outreach publication: “Pest Watch: California Fivespined Ips – A Pine Engraver Beetle New to Washington State.”

 

Follow DNR on:

On the road to healthier forests; DNR outlines forest health hazard warning at public meetings

Bark beetle. Photo: Natural Resources Canada.

Last night, DNR met with the citizens of the City of Tonasket and surrounding areas to share information about the “forest health hazard warning” in eastern Okanogan County.

After receiving recommendations last month from the Forest Health Technical Advisory Committee, Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark intends to issue the hazard warning to focus attention and action to address ongoing forest insect infestations in areas that have been identified by the committee.

Those areas are:

• Ferry County: Expanding the recommended spruce budworm warning area to include the entire county;
• Okanogan & Ferry counties: Including pine bark beetles in the warnings (along with western spruce budworm); and
• Klickitat and Yakima counties: Issuing an additional warning for pine bark beetles in portions of the two counties.

Tonight, DNR meets with citizens who live in and around the City of Republic to discuss the forest health hazard warning in western Ferry County. 

Next week, DNR will hold a public meeting in the City of Goldendale to discuss the forest health issues in portions of Klickitat and Yakima counties.

At the public meetings, DNR will present information on the nature of the forest conditions and recommended actions, and seeks input from the public.

The hazard warning would free up more than $4 million to help landowners combat the insect outbreaks. All actions are voluntary on the part of the affected landowners and land managers. Funding allocated to DNR, under a “Jobs Bill” passed by the state legislature in April, will be directed toward the effort.

Thanks to the aerial survey, DNR and the U.S. Forest Service are able to assess where unhealthy forests are and what is causing the problem. Although it was delayed because of the weather, this year’s aerial survey is now underway and should be completed in September.

Read the full report of the Forest Health Technical Advisory Committee.

They’re baack… Tent caterpillars spotted in Island and Whatcom counties

Western tent caterpillars basking in sunlight on the trunk of an apple tree. Vashon Island, Washington, 2003. Photo: Karen Ripley/DNR.

Yes, your deciduous trees might have campers! It’s simply the pesky western tent caterpillar
(Malacosoma californicum) ganging up and consuming the leaves. Their favorite trees are alder, willow, cottonwood, and many other types of broad-leaved ornamental and orchard trees.

The caterpillars are currently seen in Island and Whatcom counties. But don’t worry. These creatures are native to Washington and most likely will not kill your trees if they’re healthy.

Tent caterpillar outbreaks are a natural, cyclical event in northwest forests. About every nine years, they rise to noticeable levels, and the populations remain high for about three years. The actual caterpillars are only present for about six weeks each spring, eating the new leaves.

In July and August, there may be clouds of brown tent caterpillar moths flying about, mating and laying silvery masses of eggs on tree twigs. As the moths die, all is quiet until the following spring, when a new generation of hungry caterpillars hatches.

The 1½-inch-long skinny, smooth, orange and black caterpillars are abundant on trees, roads, houses, mailboxes, and just about everywhere, especially as they complete their feeding and are wandering about trying to find protected sites to construct cocoons. They construct noticeable, dark, silky nests for protection from bad weather.

It’s useful to recognize these features of outbreaks: