Science and Technology for Canadians

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Summary

With accelerated international trade exchanges, the threat posed by foreign forest insects to the biological balance and natural biodiversity of Canada's forests is real and could impact on the health of the country's forests and economy. The Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (BSLB) is the most recent of these threats. This spring, researchers from Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service (CFS) confirmed that this beetle is the cause of the dying red spruce trees in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax. CFS researchers are participating in a multi-agency Task Force that works together as a team to make the best decisions to try and eradicate this foreign pest. As with any established introduced pest, when eradication is attempted, it may take several seasons to assess the success of the program. In the meantime, CFS will continue to research the BSLB in this new environment in an effort to gain a better understanding of its behaviour and identify the possible long-term risks to Canada's forests.

Transcript of Video

Gillian Deacon
As travel becomes easier and less expensive, our world really is becoming one big global village. But that doesn't just apply to humans. Some unwelcome travellers from Europe have hitched a ride to Canada and they're keeping scientists busy.

Jay Ingram
Southern British Columbia - 1999... germ warfare is in the air... and it's all because of European moths that got away from a Boston, Massachusetts naturalist in 1868.

Dr. Vince Nealis
Right now it's basically established from western New Brunswick and parts of Nova Scotia, right through the Great Lakes. And there has been in any one year, there's been as much as 300,000 hectares of defoliation, in Ontario alone, in the 1990's due to the gypsy moth.

Jay Ingram
In an effort to keep gypsy moths from establishing themselves, and destroying trees, a solution called BTk was sprayed over areas of local infestation around Victoria and Vancouver. The bacteria in the solution are soil organisms, considered to be safe for humans, but are deadly to caterpillars. Using computer simulations, scientists gauged when the caterpillars would hatch and timed the spraying to coincide. The year 2000 saw very few gypsy moths in the sprayed areas... but chances are they'll be back. Gypsy moths can travel thousands of miles... even though the winged females can't fly.

Dr. Vince Nealis
She gets around by laying her eggs on things that humans move around. Eggs are often laid on lawn furniture, BBQ's, canoes - and when people move those items across the country, of course, they move those eggs too and that's how gypsy moth gets established in new areas.

Jay Ingram
If an alien species gets as established as the gypsy moth is in southern Ontario, it's too late to eradicate it. Keeping aliens out is preferable.

Dr. Vince Nealis
We try to monitor for insects that we suspect might be coming in with commodities or in shipping containers. And people are trained to search for different life stages of these insects... the best that we can do is try to identify source areas of new pests and try to take preventative action to keep them out.

Jay Ingram
But invading insects do slip between the cracks. In 1999 an alien species was identified in Halifax after a Natural Resources Canada official inspecting this container port facility noticed dead trees in the park across the road. The first surprise was that the only type of bark beetle found on the dead trees was the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle... and the second surprise was that it'd been around much longer than anyone had suspected.

Dr. Jon Sweeney
A biologist from our lab checked around in the Nova Scotia museum and looked at their collections, and found actually 17 beetles that were collected in Point Pleasant Park in 1990 as part of a survey for bark beetles. Unfortunately they'd been misidentified as a native species of longhorn beetle. So we know it's been in the park since at least 1990.

Jay Ingram
In the summer of 2000, surveys showed that the Brown Spruce Longhorn beetle had spread in a 15 kilometre radius from Point Pleasant Park. Beyond the basics, little is known about this bug. Scientists are conducting experiments to learn why it eats dying and stressed trees in Europe, but attacks healthy looking trees in Canada. There's some concern about the beetle's potential impact on the environment if it spreads.

Dr. Jon Sweeney
It's particularly worrisome in that red spruce is in a bit of a decline. This is the last thing it needs is another insect that can attack and kill it. We also know that if it can get into the white spruce, it probably goes into most spruces - I can't say that for sure - but we know it attacks Sitka, white, red ... It could potentially be - we can't say for sure - but potentially a threat to the spruce forests right across the country if it got out and spread there.

Jay Ingram
In an attempt to contain and eradicate the beetles, infested trees are being removed. Other strategies will be implemented as more is learned about the bug. Whether the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle will be eradicated remains to be seen. One thing is for certain - as long as there's world trade and world travel, there'll be alien insects sneaking into the country. Detecting and eradicating them before they get established is the ongoing challenge.

Earth Tones is produced in co-operation with Natural Resources Canada.