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Forest Insect & Disease Control and Monitoring Activities in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012 and Outlook for 2013 Compiled by Dan Lavigne Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources Forestry and Agrifoods Agency Forestry Services Branch Forest Engineering and Industry Services Division Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section ISBN: 978-1-55146-500-5

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Forest Insect & Disease Control and Monitoring Activities in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012 and

Outlook for 2013

Compiled by Dan Lavigne Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources

Forestry and Agrifoods Agency Forestry Services Branch

Forest Engineering and Industry Services Division Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section

ISBN: 978-1-55146-500-5

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Cover photo: Damage and mortality in 26-year old red pine stand caused by Sirococcus shoot blight – photos taken by Lloyd Belbin and Dan Lavigne in Cold Brook area in 2012.

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Forest Insect & Disease Control and Monitoring Activities in Newfoundland and

Labrador in 2012 and Outlook for 2013

Compiled by

Dan Lavigne

April 2013

Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources Forestry and Agrifoods Agency

Forestry Services Branch Forest Engineering and Industry Services Division Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section

Fortis Building, 4 Herald Avenue P.O. Box 2006, Corner Brook, NL

Canada A2H 6J8

ISBN: 978-1-55146-500-5

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Permanent Staff – Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section

Dan Lavigne, Lloyd Belbin, Gary Holloway, Terry Suley, Bernie Hinks

(Please see acknowledgements for complete listing of all seasonal and temporary staff, and pest survey aides)

Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources Management Districts / Offices

In 2012, detection and reporting of insect and disease damage was also provided by DNR Regional and District staff.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii

LIST OF TABLES iv

LIST OF FIGURES v

SUMMARY vi

INTRODUCTION 1

FOREST INSECT & DISEASE CONTROL Historical 2 2011 Forecasts / Control in 2012 2 Activities / Projects conducted by Control personnel in 2012 3

FOREST INSECT & DISEASE MONITORING RESULTS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2013 Weather / Seasonal Phenology in 2012 4 Forest Insect Pests Eastern Hemlock Looper 6

Eastern Spruce Budworm 10 Balsam Fir Sawfly 16 Spruce Beetle 18 Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle 18 Other Insect Pests 20

Forest Disease Pests Scleroderris (EU – European Strain) Canker of Pines 20 Other Disease Pests 22

ASSESSMENTS OF HIGH VALUE AREAS (PLANTATIONS AND THINNINGS) 23 RESEARCH 28 OTHER SPECIAL TRIALS / INITIATIVES IN 2012 29 REFERENCES 31 APPENDICES 33

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Appendix A – Trial to examine distribution and number of hemlock looper eggs 35 on branch samples and comparison of forecast results using a standardized branch size versus whole branch. Appendix B – Additional information on spruce budworm pheromone trapping work 40 and results in Labrador. Appendix C - Comparison of spruce budworm moth catches using Multipher I versus 42 Unitrap non-saturating trap designs. Appendix D - Comparison of spruce budworm egg mass forecasts between early 44 and later season sampling. Appendix E - Research project updates. 45

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The experience and input of many individuals is required to monitor and assess insect and disease conditions within the Province and to provide control / protection of the forest resource as needed. The insect and disease protection and monitoring information provided in this report is directly related to the conscientious efforts of Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section (IDMC) staff within the Forest Engineering and Industry Services Division (FEIS) of the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Appreciation is extended to all permanent (L. Belbin, G. Holloway, B. Hinks, T. Suley), seasonal ( B. Brake, R. Gregory, T. Rideout, P. Anderson, K. Howell, H. Abbott, G. Critchley, D. Reid, B. McCarthy, D. Kirby, J. Short, S. Winsor, J. Pelley, R. Carroll, J. Lewis), and temporary staff (J. Ryan, M. Benoit, F. Genneaux, F. Atkins, R. Chaffey), and pest survey aides (J. Walsh, L. Walsh, E. Park, J. Mutford, R. Carroll, H. Baines, S. Pinksen, D. Newman, B. Reardon, K. Rousseau, J. Baker, J. Vokey, K. Alyward, D. Hussey, J. Wellman).

Special thanks is also extended to other FEIS, Headquarters and Regional and District staff for their support and assistance to the insect and disease program and reporting of forest insect and disease problems found in 2012-13. Specifically, thanks to Peter Yates and Basil English for providing GIS information used for Scleroderris (EU) detection work in red pine stands in 2012. Thanks are also extended to DNR staff in Districts 14 and 19a for assistance with routine monitoring of SBW pheromone trap catches. Assistance by Parks Canada staff in Rocky Harbour in monitoring SBW pheromone traps is also acknowledged. Continued diagnostic support for tree diseases provided by Dr. G. Warren (now retired) of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) is also gratefully acknowledged. The cooperation and sharing of information provided by R. Neville, T. Drover, and C. Maloney of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for forest pests of quarantine significance is also greatly appreciated. Also, thanks to Dr. Lucie Royer (CFS) for cumulative degree-day thresholds related to insect development and other forest pest related information provided in 2012. The cooperation and assistance provided by members of the Scleroderris (EU) canker working group in 2013 is also gratefully acknowledged.

Finally, we want to acknowledge the many years of service and the valuable contributions made by one of our colleagues to the Province’s Insect and Disease program over the last 37 plus years. Many thanks Lloyd and all the best in your retirement.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

bF Balsam fir BFS Balsam fir sawfly bS Black spruce BWA Balsam woolly adelgid CFIA Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada CFS Canadian Forestry Service, Natural Resources Canada DNR Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources FEIS Forest Engineering and Industry Services Division FIDS Forest Insect and Disease Section HL Eastern hemlock looper IAS Invasive Alien Species IDMC Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section M-S moderate-severe rP red pine SBW Eastern spruce budworm SCLEU Scleroderris (European Strain) Canker SERG-I SERG - International SPBTL Spruce Beetle wB White birch wS White spruce

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LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 1. List of other control related activities conducted in 2012 by airstrip or location.

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Table 2. Summary of HL pheromone trap catch results with frequency and percentage of traps shown in arbitrary trap catch ranges along with maximum trap catch and mean trap catch (2011 baseline years for island; 2012 baseline year for Labrador).

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Table 3. Provincial summary of hemlock looper initial forecast survey results by damage / population categories - 2005 to 2012.

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Table 4. Summary of eastern spruce budworm pheromone trap catch results with frequency and percentage of traps shown in arbitrary trap catch ranges based on average moths/trap; maximum trap catch and mean trap catch - 2000 to 2012.

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Table 5. Provincial summary of spruce budworm egg mass survey results by damage / population categories - 2007 to 2012

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Table 6. Provincial summary of balsam fir sawfly egg survey results by damage/population categories – 2000 to 2012.

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Table 7. Summary information for seven sites found to be positive for Scleroderrris (EU) canker in Newfoundland.

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Table 8. Summary of areas assessed during high-value survey conducted in 2012 by Region, District, silvicultural treatment, and primary tree species.

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Table 9. Summary of forest pests identified and their incidence in high-value areas assessed on the island in 2012.

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Table 10. Summary of BWA damage observed on bF trees assessed in high-value areas on the island in 2011 and 2012.

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Table 11. Research projects partially funded through the Spray Efficacy Research Group – International in 2012.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page Figure 1. Images representing various values derived from our forests. 1 Figure 2. Outbreak area with hemlock looper damaged trees. 1 Figure 3. Tree mortality in forest stand. 1

Figure 4. Balsam woolly adelgid damage. 1

Figure 5. Scleroderris damage in red pine plantation. 1

Figure 6. Area (ha) aerially treated to protect forest areas in Newfoundland and Labrador from major pests. 2 Figure 7. Images for various projects and activities conducted by IDMC control personnel in 2012. 3 Figure 8. Graphs showing degree-day (base 3°C) accumulations for weather stations in Corner Brook and

Goose Bay - 1999 (early year), 2002 (late year), 2011 and 2012. 5

Figure 9. Comparison of hemlock looper populations in 2011 versus 2012 using pheromone trapping results of the average number of moths/trap at each location.

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Figure 10. Area (ha) of M-S defoliation caused by hemlock looper - 1980 to 2012. 7 Figure 11. Areas (ha) of M-S defoliation caused by hemlock looper and other defoliators in 2012. 8 Figure 12. Initial fall forecast results from 2011 and 2012 showing expected hemlock looper population /

damage levels in the Province in 2012 and 2013. 9

Figure 13. Initial and supplementary fall forecast results with point locations and forecast polygons showing areas (ha) expected to have M-S population/damage in 2013.

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Figure 14. M-S defoliation from spruce budworm in Province of Quebec in 2012 (Therrien, 2012). 10 Figure 15. General trend (avg. moths/trap) from SBW pheromone trapping results on island. 11 Figure 16. Eastern spruce budworm pheromone trapping locations and results by arbitrary trap catch ranges

for island (2011 and 2012), and in Labrador (2012). 12

Figure 17. Comparison of predicted moth flight and actual trap catches for eastern spruce budworm adults at St. Georges DNR Office and Gros Morne National Park Headquarters.

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Figure 18. Areas (ha) of M-S spruce budworm defoliation mapped around the Goose Bay area in Labrador – 2009 to 2012.

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Figure 19. Spruce budworm forecast survey results in and around Goose Bay area in Labrador in 2011 and 2012.

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Figure 20. SBW egg mass sampling locations and results on island – 2012 16 Figure 21. M-S defoliation caused by balsam fir sawfly in Connaigre Peninsula and St. Albans areas in 2011

and 2012. 16

Figure 22. Map of balsam fir sawfly egg survey results showing predicted population / damage levels for island based on 2011 and 2012 forecasts.

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Figure 23. Map of M-S BFS forecast area and points – St. Albans. 18 Figure 24. Map of areas affected by spruce beetle in Goose Bay area in Labrador. 18 Figure 25. Trapping results for brown spruce longhorn beetle survey conducted by CFIA in Atlantic Canada –

2006 to 2012. 19

Figure 26. Discoloured foliage / damage from Scleroderris (EU) canker observed in 2011. 20 Figure 27. Symptoms found on red pine associated with infection from European Scleroderris canker. 21 Figure 28. Map showing red pine areas (n=463) identified from forest layers and silvicultural records and map

with locations assessed in 2012 showing positive and negative sites. 21

Figure 29. Map showing the distribution of plantations and thinnings assessed during the 2011 and 2012 high-value surveys on the island.

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Figure 30. Map with BWA damage ratings determined from assessments of balsam fir at locations sampled during high-value surveys on island in 2011 and 2012.

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Figure 31. Map showing locations and percentage of trees with moose browse at locations assessed as part of high-value surveys on island in 2011 and 2012.

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Figure 32. Cover page of IDMC operating procedures manual. 29 Figure 33. Integration of pest forecast data with ForPRO DSS software to estimate impacts. 30

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SUMMARY

Control Program: There was no aerial control program in 2012 - besides 1991, this is the only other time in the last 35 years that a program has not been conducted. Despite the absence of a program, personnel who normally provide support to control operations were still needed to maintain the equipment and infrastructure required to ensure DNR’s operational readiness to carry-out control actions as and when needed. The absence of a program in 2012 actually provided additional time to address maintenance and infrastructure needs normally not completed during treatment years. IDMC control personnel also provided invaluable assistance to other programs (i.e. Fire, Forest Roads, and Districts) in 2012.

Weather / Seasonal Phenology: Weather information, specifically daily maximum and minimum temperatures were used to calculate degree-day accumulations in 2012. These were compared to degree-days accumulations from previous years. Results indicated that 2012 was a warm year, with development approximately 2 weeks ahead of that observed in 2011. The timing of all surveys had to be adjusted accordingly.

Eastern Hemlock Looper (HL): With the decline observed in HL populations in recent years, a network of 50 pheromone trapping locations established in 2011 was expanded to 105 locations on the island and 7 locations in Labrador in 2012. The number of male moths caught in traps will be used to detect and monitor subtle changes in populations even when populations are low and not detectable by traditional sampling methods for other life stages. With 2011 as the baseline year, in 2012 there was a general decrease in the percentage of traps found to have an average of more than 50 moths per trap. While large areas of the Province still have low HL populations, there were three localized areas (Zinc Mine Rd on N. Peninsula; N. of St. Albans on south coast; Little Harbour on isthmus of Avalon Peninsula) where HL pheromone trap catches were notably higher (318, 491 and 260 moths/trap). Aerial overview surveys conducted to map the severity and extent of damage found no defoliation in Labrador and no defoliation over much of the island. M-S defoliation, however, was observed in the Connaigre Peninsula (27542 ha) and St. Albans (579 ha) areas with feeding damage caused not only by HL, but by several other defoliators. Results from the fall forecast indicate that HL populations, although still low over much of the island, have increased slightly with 774 locations having no eggs, 134 having trace counts, 40 having low counts, 13 having moderate counts and 3 having severe counts. In Labrador HL populations which collapsed in 2009, still remain low with no eggs found at any of the 35 locations assessed. Interestingly the same three localized areas with higher pheromone trap catches also had forecast results that were moderate to severe. Initial and supplementary forecast sampling conducted in the Zinc Mine Rd. and St. Albans areas have identified 3708 and 2812 ha of susceptible forest expected to have M-S populations / damage in 2013. Eastern Spruce Budworm (SBW): The last outbreak of this major forest pest ended on the island in the late 1980’s, however, SBW populations have been active around the Goose Bay area in Labrador for the last six years. A large outbreak of this pest is currently underway in Quebec along the north shore of the St. Lawrence. Given the potential of SBW moths reaching the Province under favourable weather conditions, the network of 49 pheromone traps established to monitor low density population on the island since 2000 was increased to 100 locations in 2012. Along with the addition of more traps, routine monitoring at several traps on the west coast of the island was conducted to record trap catches over the season to try to determine if moths caught in these traps included those coming in from other areas. Trapping results on the island in 2012 showed an increase in the number of SBW moths caught. Routine monitoring of moth catches over the adult flight period also showed a sharp peak in moth catches, suggesting an immigration event occurred. This is significant as immigration of moths can lead to population increases with control agents (i.e. predators, parasites, disease) that normally keep local populations in check overwhelmed. Fortunately, aerial defoliation or ground surveys did not detect any areas of SBW defoliation on the island. In Labrador, however, ca. 33000 ha of M-S defoliation was mapped with populations rebounding unexpectantly in areas forecasted to have no or low populations/damage. This led to a small trial to look at egg mass densities in the late summer versus the fall. Defoliation was particularly severe along the Kenamu River and southern portions of the Carter Basin. Small pockets of damage continue to persist in Northwest River and Sheshatshiu. Damage was also observed along the Churchill and Goose Rivers. Along the south shore of Lake Melville, M-S defoliation detected in the vicinity of the English River in 2011, appeared to be greatly reduced in 2012. Fall egg mass survey results indicate that populations will remain active around the Goose Bay area in 2013. On the island, fall egg mass survey results around locations with higher pheromone trap catches did not detect any egg masses. Populations of this important insect pest need to be closely monitored in 2013, in light of increasing populations in the Province of Quebec, and opportunities for moth immigration. Balsam Fir Sawfly (BFS): The last outbreak of this pest occurred on the island from 1991 to 2009. At present there is no pheromone lure for monitoring low density populations of this insect. One of the primary means for detecting this pest is through observations of damage made by IDMC staff and reports received from DNR District staff, forest industry or the general public. In 2011, damage from BFS was reported by District 7 staff on the Connaigre Peninsula. An aerial overview survey conducted by IDMC staff detected ca. 13000 ha of M-S defoliation in predominantly scrub forest stands in this area. As expected, in 2012 the area defoliated on the Connaigre Peninsula increased to 28078 ha with defoliation caused not only by BFS, but other defoliators in many of the same areas. An additional 1167 ha of M-S defoliation was also observed in the St. Albans area. Results from the fall egg survey indicate that populations of this pest will remain active in these areas in 2013. Populations are expected to decline on the Connaigre Peninsula, while in the St. Albans area 3814 ha of susceptible forest is forecast to have M-S defoliation in 2013. Ca. 2200 ha of this area will also have M-S defoliation from HL. In west-central NL, this pest will remain active with 4 locations forecast to have light damage and one location N of Bonne Bay Little Pond forecast to have moderate defoliation. Spruce Beetle (SPBTL): Aerial defoliation surveys conducted on the island and in Labrador continue to detect SPBTL damage in areas with mature and overmature white spruce. On the island damaged trees continue to be found in the Humber River valley. In Labrador the areas (Grand Lake road and Mud Lake / Kenemu River) with severe defoliation and dead trees have grown from 10988 ha in 2005 to 43312 ha in 2012. Within this area there

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is now older mortality (i.e. grey trees and fallen timber) and fewer yellow or red trees (i.e. symptoms of more recent attack). Ca. 27879 ha of this area is outside of the District 19a management area in non-commercial forest. The other 15433 ha falls within the management area. Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (BSLB): This is an invasive alien species that attacks all spruce species. It was first introduced into the Halifax area in the late 1980’s. Despite efforts to eradicate and contain this pest it has now spread into other areas of Nova Scotia and was found for the first time in Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick in 2011. Firewood brought in by campers is suspected as being the source of this most recent find. For invasive species, identifying high-risk commodities and pathways is extremely important. For BSLB these commodities include spruce round wood with bark, firewood and wood packaging materials. In 2012, the CFIA carried out trapping at 19 high risk sites including ports and wood processing facilities – no BSLB were found. The close proximity of positive sites in Atlantic Canada certainly reinforces the need to remain vigilant. Although the movement of high-risk commodities is regulated by the CFIA, additional education and other measures (i.e. wood bins) at points of entry ((i.e. North Sydney) should be considered to reduce the risk of introducing this pest into the province. Other Insect Pests: European pine shoot moth continues to be a common pest found in rP plantations. In the St. Anthony area, the hairy poplar sawfly continued to cause severe defoliation on balsam poplar. Populations / damage from whitemarked tussock moth and blackheaded budworm in combination with other major defoliators was observed in localized areas of the Province in 2012. Scleroderris (EU) Canker: This invasive alien species is a serious disease of hard pines. It causes tree mortality in both young and mature trees with rP being the most susceptible. In 2011, three locations with Scleroderris (EU) canker were identified outside of the existing quarantine zone (Avalon Peninsula) regulated by the CFIA. Prohibitions of movement certificates were issued by CFIA for these sites in 2012. Based on recommendations from the Scleroderris (EU) working group, a directed survey was conducted in 2012 to see if Scleroderris could be detected in other pine areas. Using forest inventory and silvicultural records, 463 sites with red pine were identifies. In 2012, 182 or 40% of these sites were assessed – while 178 were negative, the disease was found at four more locations (W of Bay d’Espoir Hwy near Berry Hill, Terra Nova River, Seal Bay – Kippens Ridge, Cold Brook). Although absent in 98% of the locations assessed, the four positive sites found were a considerable distance apart raising questions again about the pathways and mechanisms of spread of this disease. With the finds from 2011 and 2012 there are now a total of seven positive sites outside the quarantine zone. To prevent the spread of this disease to other planted and indigenous rP, the Scleroderris Working group also recommended that eradication of the disease at known sites be conducted. In 2012, work was initiated to eradicate the disease from the Cold Brook site with the harvest and removal of the red pine logs. Cut branches, tops and cankered stems left on site and will be burned in 2013. Discussions are underway to hopefully eradicate this disease from the remaining six sites in 2013. In the interim additional prohibitions of movement will be put in place by the CFIA. Other Disease Pests: Red band needle blight was also detected in 76% of the rP plantations assessed for SCLEU. This can be an economically important disease of conifers with defoliation causing premature needle loss and reductions in yield. Although SCLEU was found in the Cold Brook site, the majority of damage was caused by Sirococcus shoot blight. This disease has been the most serious disease of rP in Nova Scotia. It kills the current-year shoots with repeated attacks resulting in foliage loss, stunted growth and eventual tree mortality. This is the first time that Sirococcus has caused damage at this scale on rP in the Province. Heavy infection by spruce needle rust observed in Labrador in 2011 was not reported in 2012. Assessments of High-Value Areas: In 2012 a total of 122 (71 thinnings; 51 plantations) locations were assessed in central and eastern portions of the island. Forest pests were identified and their incidence recorded into broad categories of nil, trace, light, and moderate. On bF the most common pest damage observed was twig attack by balsam woolly adelgid, and moose browse. On spruce, the most common pests were spruce bud midge, spruce galling aphids, and yellowheaded spruce sawfly. This survey also provided the opportunity to conduct additional assessments to record the levels of balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) damage observed. After two years of assessing BWA damage, results show a band extending from the south western corner of the Province (District 14) up through central portions of the island to District 8 where BWA is more active. Research: The department continues to participate in research projects through its membership with SERG-International (SERG-I). Through SERG-I members work cooperatively on research projects by sharing expertise, and financial and in-kind resources to achieve common goals in the areas of spray efficacy and integrated pest management. In 2012, eleven projects were partially funded with results reported in Appendix E. The department also continues to contribute to forest pest research and forest pest management in general through its involvement with the National Forest Pest Strategy and Forest Pest Management Forum. Identifying research priorities and participating in research initiatives continues to be an important component in providing the information and tools needed to protect our forests through an integrated pest management approach.

Other Special Trials / Initiatives in 2012: A number of in-house trials were conducted to evaluate and improve sampling methods used to monitor seasonal phenology and forecast pest populations. The results of these trials are summarized in Appendix A, B, C and D. Beyond these special trials several other important initiatives were conducted through contract work carried out in 2012 and 2013. The first involved the creation of an Insect and Disease Control Operations Manual which describes the work and methods used by the IDMC to carry out its mandate. The second contract involves the transfer of new technology to the Province to assist in the prediction of impacts from major forest pests. It will allow for more informed decision making as it relates to quantifying the consequences of various control / no control actions.

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Figure 2. Outbreak area with hemlock looper damaged trees.

Figure 3. Tree mortality in forest stand.

Figure 4. Balsam woolly adelgid damage.

Figure 1. Images representing various values derived from our forests.

Figure 5. Scleroderris damage in red pine plantation.

Forest Insect & Disease Control and Monitoring Activities in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2012 and Outlook for 2013

Introduction

Healthy forests ecosystems are essential to the quality of our soils, air and water. They’re home to thousands of organisms and fish and wildlife species. Wood from our forests is used to build and heat our homes, create specialty products and provide other economic opportunities. They’re used to support a variety of recreational opportunities that also help our economy and promote wellness. For centuries our forests have been an important part of our social fabric – they’ve shaped our history, sustained us and influenced our culture(s) – Figure 1.

The sustainable management and stewardship of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (NL) forests are essential. One important component of sustainable management is the protection of our forests from fire and uncontrolled outbreaks of forest insect and disease pests (Figure

2). These pests can cause widespread growth losses and tree mortality. Apart from the direct impact on trees and wood supply, there are also adverse impacts on non-timber values such as ecosystem processes, aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitats, recreational use and forest aesthetics. As trees die and forest stands open up, more sunlight reaches the ground and causes materials to dry thereby increasing the risk of fire in insect killed areas (Figure 3). In the 1970’s the failure to actively pursue a forest protection program during the early stages of an eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) outbreak resulted

in the loss of 50 million cubic metres of balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce (Picea mariana). At the time this represented a 25-year wood supply to the Provinces forest industry. Beyond the impacts that occur in our natural forest, impacts can also occur in high-value areas (i.e. plantations, thinnings) established as part of the Provinces reforestation program. Millions of dollars have been invested in these high-value areas which now represent about 19 to 20% of the productive forest land-base. These areas are important to the long-term sustainability and health of our forests.

Beyond the threats from native pests, trade involving the global movement of products has increased the risk of accidental introductions of invasive alien insect and disease species (IAS) from other parts of the world. Introductions of IAS can have very serious direct impacts on both forested and urban environments, and indirect economic impacts resulting from regulations that restrict the domestic or international movement of commodities that may contain life-stages of these pests. Adverse impacts caused by IAS such as the balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg)) (Figure 4) and European Scleroderris canker ((Gremmeniella abietina Lagerb.) M. Morelet.) (Figure 5) are already evident in the

Province. There are also new threats from other invasive species such as the brown spruce longhorn beetle (Tetropium fuscum) and gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) – these pests are already present in neighbouring Atlantic Provinces. The threats and impacts posed by both native forest pests and IAS highlight the need for having an active monitoring program to assess pest populations and damage, evaluate expected impacts, and provide control as and when needed.

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Figure 6. Area (ha) aerially treated to protect forest areas in Newfoundland and Labrador from major pests.

In 1974 the Insect & Disease Monitoring and Control Section (IDMC) of the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Forestry Services Branch, Forest Engineering & Industry Services Division (FEIS) took over the responsibility for conducting control programs and partnered with the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) in monitoring all major forest pests. With the demise of the Forest Insect & Disease Section within the CFS in 1996, this role increased to include sole responsibility for monitoring. This annual report provides a detailed summary of the control and monitoring activities conducted by the IDMC in 2012, the results found and outlook for 2013, as well as, information on other related trials/initiatives.

Forest Insect & Disease Control

Historical Aerial control programs which began in NL in the late 1960’s were the only practical means of protecting large tracts of forest land. Pesticides registered under the Federal Pest Control Products Act were applied at recommended label rates to reduce populations and damage from major forest pests with the goal being to keep trees alive until natural controls (i.e. predators, parasites, disease etc) led to the collapse of outbreaks.

In 1968 and 1969, 1985 to 1990, 1992 to 2005, and 2007 to 2011 aerial control programs were conducted to protect forests from the eastern hemlock looper (Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria (Guenée)) (HL) - Figure 6. In the early 1970’s an outbreak of the eastern spruce budworm (SBW) led to the need for controls in 1977 to 1985. In 1992 and 2010 controls were also conducted for localized SBW outbreaks. Since 1977, the Province has used Bacillus thuringiensis (var. kurstaki) (B.t.k.), a commercial biological pesticide to control SBW and HL. B.t.k. is a naturally occurring bacterium found in soils, water and on plants. It has been used to control a variety of pests in forestry, agriculture; and urban and organic applications – including the protection of food crops.

In 1998 and 1999 and from 2001 to 2003 and 2006 to 2009 aerial control programs were also conducted to reduce populations and damage caused by the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis (Harr.)).

2011 Forecasts / Control in 2012 A continued decline in HL populations was apparent based on forest pest survey results reported by Lavigne (2011). Beyond no detectable defoliation in 2011, the pheromone trapping and fall forecast (egg) survey results indicated that HL populations were at low levels. With the exception of two locations with a low moderate forecast, populations elsewhere were nil to low . For this reason no control of HL populations was required in 2012.

Pest survey results for balsam fir sawfly (BFS) in 2011 detected areas of moderate to severe defoliation on the Connaigre Peninsula. Forecast survey results also indicated that moderate to severe populations were expected again in 2012, however, the areas affected were primarily coastal scrub forest with little to no economic importance. These stands were also sufficiently isolated to reduce the likelihood of spread of this insect into forested areas of higher value. For these reasons no control was conducted for BFS in 2012.

SBW populations were forecast to remain active in the Goose Bay area in 2012; however, aerial defoliation results in 2011 indicated a reduction in the area of moderate to severe (M-S) defoliation with trees recovering in many areas (Lavigne, 2011). Excluding three sites, the majority of locations were also forecast to have nil to low populations and suggested a continued decline in SBW populations. For these reasons no control for SBW was conducted in 2012.

Besides 1991, 2012 is the only other time in the last 35 years that no control operations have been conducted in NL.

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Activities / Projects conducted by Control personnel in 2012 Despite the absence of an aerial control program in 2012, IDMC personnel who normally provide support to control operations were still needed to maintain the equipment and infrastructure required to ensure DNR’s operational readiness to carry-out control actions as and when needed. The lack of a control program in 2012 actually provided additional time to address maintenance and infrastructure needs normally not completed during treatment years.

During the year, IDMC control personnel also provided invaluable assistance to other programs within the FEIS (e.g. forest roads program), DNR (e.g. Fire program), as well as, other departments. A list of all the projects/activities conducted by IDMC control personnel in 2012 is provided in Table 1. A mosaic of images from some of these projects/activities is provided in Figure 7.

Table 1. List of other control related activities conducted in 2012 by airstrip or location.

Group Location Description of project/activities conducted FEIS Pynns Bk Constructed 52’ X 32’ storage building (roughed in and weather tight).

Main Brook Airstrip Brush cutting, maintenance of buildings and parking ramp surface. Port au Choix Airstrip Maintenance of buildings and parking ramp surface. Bay d’espoir Airstrip Brush cutting. Deer Lake Airstrip Maintenance of parking ramp surface.

Stephenville Airstrip Installation of new septic holding system; constructed new 24’ X 24’ storage building; maintenance of other buildings and parking ramp surface.

Buchans Airstrip Installation of new septic holding system; brush cutting; maintenance of parking ramp surface. Gander (Hanger 21) Annual maintenance of all spray equipment (pumps, hoses, tanks, support vehicles); constructed three

8’ X 10’ portable storage sheds; worked on new fuel bowser.

FEIS - Insect & Disease

Monitoring and Control Section

Pasadena Field Station Maintenance on lab and wash facility. Gander Constructed three 16’ X 9’ portable bridges.

Pynns Bk Upgraded and maintained storage shed; fencing at gate of compound. FEIS Roads

Section Various Locations on island Assisted FEIS Roads Section with transportation of culverts and bridging materials.

DNR - Fire Program

Various Locations on island and in Labrador

Provided support to fire program from mid-June to mid-July - included transportation of fire equipment and materials; setting up foam; installing fuel systems and fuel caches; and cleaning / rolling / boxing of fire hose.

DNR - Eastern Region

Eastern Region Assisted District roads staff with herbicide treatment along 7-km stretch of road (Clam Pond Rd) in Baie Verte area.

Figure 7. Images for various projects and activities conducted by IDMC control personnel in 2012.

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Lumber produced from the European sawmilling study done by the FEIS’s Industry Services Section in 2009-2011 was used in many of the protection infrastructure construction projects conducted in 2012. Some of these projects are still to be completed in 2013, but when completed will greatly improve capacity for a number of the groups identified in Table 2.

Forest Insect & Disease Monitoring

Before conducting a control program to protect forested areas from major forest pests, it’s important to know if a problem exists, and if so, where? The only way to answer this question is through annual monitoring of populations and assessment of impacts. Different survey methods have been developed to help monitor and forecast insect and disease populations and damage. The particular survey method used is directly related to the objectives of the survey, the pest populations being monitored, the pest’s biology, and knowledge of the relationship between pest numbers and subsequent damage. For some pests the latter is well established and for others it’s still poorly understood. For insects that over winter in the egg stage, forecast surveys using conventional branch sampling methods can be conducted to predict population and damage levels by sampling appropriate (i.e. depending on the female’s egg laying habits) locations for eggs or egg masses,. For insect that over winter in the larval stage, sampling can likewise be conducted to predict populations and damage based on the number of larvae found. These forecast surveys essentially identify the areas where treatment may be required to reduce populations and damage.

When control is required different surveys are needed - these typically entail branch sampling of larvae during the insect’s active feeding period to determine their larval development, a key piece of information needed to time treatments. The assessment of larval numbers before and after treatments in both treated and untreated areas is also used to assess control results. Survey tools have also been developed to help monitor low density populations. The identification and artificial synthesis of sex pheromones for a number of forest insects has led to the use of pheromone-baited traps as another technique for monitoring forest pests. Specific pheromones or scents are emitted by female insects to attract males of the same species. The number of male moths caught in these traps is used to detect and monitor changes in populations even when populations are very low and not detectable by traditional branch sampling methods. The number of insects captured in a trap can be influenced by a number of different factors including the type of lure used, its concentration, the trap design and the insect species itself. As with any monitoring technique, the results obtained with pheromone trapping must be carefully interpreted until changes in trap catches and thresholds associated with rising populations and subsequent damage are better understood. Moth counts considered to be biologically significant for one species may not be significant for another and may differ by several orders of magnitude. Consequently, the absolute number of insects in a trap for a particular species may not be as important as the trends observed over time. In the future these trends should assist in the early detection of rising populations of important forest pests before outbreaks occur. Specific trap thresholds may also help to determine when other more traditional forecast (branch sampling) methods should be used within specific areas to help in the prediction and delineation of population and damage levels expected in the ensuing year.

Despite efforts to try to reduce damage caused by major forests pests, damage may still occur in areas left unprotected or undetected. To monitor this damage, annual aerial overview surveys are needed to map and categorize the extent and severity of damage (i.e. defoliation and mortality) found. Beyond simply recording this information as part of annual monitoring, this information can be extremely valuable in assessing impacts and prioritizing areas for future protection.

Another important component in the annual monitoring of forest pests is understanding their seasonal phenology or the time of year when certain life-stages are found. This information is needed to properly time the above surveys and is also important in the biological timing of treatments when control is needed. The development of insects is tied closely to weather, specifically the cumulative temperatures or degree-days that occur above specific temperature thresholds. Common temperature thresholds used for insects include 3 and 5 ºC. Degree-days using these thresholds can be calculated on a daily basis using the formula ((maximum temperature + minimum temperature)/2) – (threshold temperature) and accumulated over the course of the season. To reach certain stages of development insects need so many cumulative or accumulated degree-days. How fast degree-days accumulate in any year affects how fast the insect develops. Cooler temperatures will delay insect development while warmer temperatures will cause development to be sooner Weather / Seasonal Phenology in 2012 Weather information, specifically daily maximum and minimum temperatures were used from five weather stations (St. Anthony, Deer Lake, Badger, Corner Brook, St. John’s) in Newfoundland and two weather stations in Labrador (Goose Bay, Churchill Falls) to calculate degree-day accumulations in 2012. These were compared to degree-days accumulations from other years, especially years with early

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(1999) and later development (2002), and degree-days accumulated in 2011. This provided information on the seasonal phenology or rate of development experienced in 2012 compared to other years.

Figure 8 provides a graphical comparison of two of the seven weather stations illustrating that 2012 was a warm year, similar to 1999, with development approximately 2 weeks ahead of that observed in 2011. The timing of all surveys had to be adjusted accordingly.

Goose Bay Airport Weather Station

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Figure 8. Graphs showing degree-day (base 3°C) accumulations for weather stations in Corner Brook and Goose Bay - 1999 (early year), 2002 (late year), 2011 and 2012.

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Forest Insect Pests Eastern Hemlock Looper – Since the collapse of eastern spruce budworm populations in the mid 1980’s, the HL has been the major forest pest in Newfoundland and Labrador. Large outbreaks of HL are common on the island and were seen for the first time at unprecedented levels in Labrador from 2006 to 2009. High populations and severe feeding damage by the larval stages of this pest can kill balsam fir trees in a single year given the insects’ wasteful feeding habits. This includes not only consuming entire needles, but also partially eating both current and old needles causing them to die. Historically, areas with high populations have been treated aerially (Figure 6) to avoid widespread tree mortality and growth losses and impacts to other forest values.

Pheromone trapping survey: Given the decline observed in HL populations in the Province in recent years, a decision was made to establish a network of pheromone traps to help monitor low density populations. As a starting point, a subset of 50 locations was established in 2011 on the island within susceptible balsam fir stands also used to forecast HL populations during the fall egg survey. This was to facilitate comparisons between pheromone trap catches and egg densities and damage in the future. This network of pheromone traps was increased to 105 locations in 2012 to provide better coverage of susceptible forest areas. In 2012, 7 pheromone traps were also placed in Labrador within areas previously noted (2006 to 2009) to have HL defoliation.

In 2012, two Unitrap pheromone traps, each containing a 10 ug HL lures and one Vaportape killing strip were placed at each location. The majority of traps were placed during the period August 13th - 17th prior to adult moth activity. This was ca. two weeks ahead of placement dates (Aug. 29th to Sept. 2nd) in 2011. Traps were subsequently checked for adult moths during the period Sept. 17th to Sept. 21st - prior to the fall forecast survey. The trapping results found at that time were used to help identify areas where forecast sampling levels could be decreased (i.e. nil or low moth catches) or increased (i.e. higher moth catches). Final moth counts and trap collection was conducted during the fall egg survey. The total number of HL moths found at each location was recorded and the average number of moths/trap for each location placed into arbitrary trap catch ranges (Figure 9, Table 2).

Figure 9. Comparison of hemlock looper populations in 2011 versus 2012 using pheromone trapping results of the average number of moths/trap at each location.

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Figure 10. Area (ha) of M-S defoliation caused by hemlock looper - 1980 to 2012.

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In 2012, ninety-seven percent of the traps were positive (i.e. caught at least one moth) with trap catches ranging from 1 to 491 moths/trap (mean trap catch of 37.4 moths). As seen in the results of Figure 9 and Table 2, in 2012 there was a general decrease in the percentage of traps found to have an average of more than 50 moths per trap (40% in 2011; 17.2% in 2012). While large areas of the Province still appear to have low HL populations, there were three localized areas (Zinc Mine Rd on N. Peninsula; N. of St. Albans on south coast; Little Harbour on isthmus of Avalon Peninsula) where HL pheromone trap catches were notably higher (averages of 318, 491 and 260 moths/trap). Fall forecast survey results (page 8) at these locations confirmed the presence of moderate to severe egg counts. Although based on only one year of data, it suggests that average moth/trap thresholds of 250 or more moths per location are indicative of populations that can be measured using conventional branch sampling techniques and capable of causing noticeable damage .

Table 2. Summary of HL pheromone trap catch results with frequency and percentage of traps shown in arbitrary trap catch ranges along with maximum trap catch and mean trap catch (2011 baseline years for island; 2012 baseline year for Labrador).

Avg. number of moths/trap by location in ranges Provincial Area

Year n

traps Traps/

Location

% of positive

locations 0 1-50 51-100 101-200 201-400 401-800 >800

Max- imum catch

Mean trap

catch 2012 105 2 97.1% 3 (2.9%) 84 (80.0%) 12 (11.4%) 3 (2.9%) 2 (1.9%) 1 (0.9%) 0 491 37.4 Island 2011 50 1 100% 0 30 (60.0%) 9 (18.0%) 9 (18.0%) 2 (4.0%) 0 0 358 60.4 2012 7 2 100% 0 7 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 8 2.7 Labrador 2013 *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd *tbd

* tbd – to be determined through trapping in 2013.

With the low HL population densities still occurring over much of the Province, plans in 2013 include maintaining this network of traps. Additional work to look more closely at the relationship between moth catches and subsequent egg densities will also be conducted once several years of data have been accumulated. This information may better define trap catch thresholds corresponding to the likelihood of finding eggs using conventional branch sampling techniques to forecast populations.

Aerial Overview Survey: Aerial overview surveys to detect and map the severity and extent of damage caused by major forest pests were conducted July 16-19th and August 15-18th in Labrador and from August 7th to August 28th on the island. Approximately 42 and 54 hours of flying were conducted over susceptible forest areas in Labrador and the Island, respectively. For a third year in a row no defoliation from HL was observed in Labrador following an outbreak that caused M-S defoliation in 2006 to 2009. In 2011 no visible defoliation from HL was observed on the island. This was the first time that M-S defoliation was not recorded for this pest since the early 1980’s (Figure 10). Despite the absence of defoliation over much of the island in 2012, this reprieve was unfortunately short-lived with the discovery of 27,542 and 579 ha of M-S defoliation on the Connaigre Peninsula and St. Albans areas caused by HL in combination with several other defoliators (balsam fir sawfly, white-marked tussock moth, blackheaded budworm) with no way of separating out the damage caused by each insect (Figure 11). Fortunately most of the M-S defoliation occurred in coastal scrub forest stands, however, in the St. Albans area older pre-commercial thinnings were heavily damaged. Given the defoliation observed, additional fall forecast / egg survey work was conducted in these areas.

Fall Egg Survey: No reports of unusual moth activity were reported by DNR Regional or District staff or forest industry personnel. Typically this information is combined with observations of defoliation as described above and more recently with pheromone trapping results to identify fall forecast sampling locations with reductions in sampling in some areas with no defoliation and low trap catches and increases in others having defoliation and higher trap catches (NTS 1:50000 map sheets 23 (Zinc Mine Road), 127 (St. Albans) and 141 (Connaigre Peninsula). A total of 1048 locations were initially identified for HL sampling. This number was higher than the 997 locations assessed in 2011, but still lower than the 1232 locations sampled in 2010.

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Figure 11. Areas (ha) of M-S defoliation caused by hemlock looper and other defoliators in 2012.

In 2012, field collection of branch samples for the fall survey commenced on October10th and finished on December 14th. For various reasons some plots were dropped or deleted resulting in a total of 964 plots being sampled on the island and 35 plots in Labrador. Beginning in 2011, all forecast/egg survey plots were flagged, and new GPS coordinates (landing / roadside, stand) collected. In each plot three trees were also selected and marked. Although this involved additional time and effort, it greatly assisted field crews in locating and sampling plots in 2012. For this reason any new, moved, or plots not already marked were flagged, trees selected, and had new GPS coordinates taken in 2012.

Collected branch samples were delivered to the Pasadena Field Station and processed using established protocols with a 2% solution of Javex to dislodge eggs from branches. Processing was conducted over the period October 15th to December 21st. A second year

of testing to examine the eggs found on different portions of the branch with and without rinsing was incorporated into the processing at a subset of locations. These results were compared to the number of eggs found using the conventional method. (see Appendix A). Eggs removed from branches were examined to determine if they were healthy or parasitized and the total number of healthy eggs per location used with historical thresholds developed by the CFS for HL in NL to forecast population/damage levels for 2013. Results (Table 3; Figure 12) indicate that HL populations, although still low over much of the island, have increased slightly with 774 locations having no eggs, 134 having trace counts, 40 having low counts, 13 having moderate counts and 3 having severe counts. This compares to 872 locations in 2011 with no eggs and lower percentages in each of the damage thresholds with eggs (Table 3). In Labrador HL populations which collapsed in 2009, remain low with no eggs found at any of the 35 locations assessed.

Table 3. Provincial summary of hemlock looper initial forecast survey results by damage/population categories - 2005 to 2012.

Total number of healthy eggs per location in damage thresholds Year

ProvincialArea

Number of

locations

% of positive

locations Nil 0

Trace 1-2

Light 3-9

Moderate 10-29

Severe 30+

Maxi-mum Eggs

Total Eggs

Mean per location

Island 964 19.8% 774(80.3%) 134 (13.9%) 40 (4.1%) 13 (1.3%) 3 (0.3%) 48 725 0.75 Labrador 35 0.0% 35 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 2012

Total 999 19.1% 809 134 40 13 3 48 725 0.73 Island 962 9.4% 872 (90.6%) 66 (6.7%) 22 (2.3%) 2 (0.2%) 0 (0.0%) 14 209 0.22

Labrador 35 0.0% 35 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 2011 Total 997 9.0% 907 (90.4%) 66 (6.6%) 22 (2.2%) 2 (0.2%) 0 14 209 0.21 Island 1172 24.1% 889 (75.9%) 191 (16.3%) 81 (6.9%) 9 (0.8%) 2 (0.2%) 57 819 0.70

Labrador 60 8.3% 55 (91.7%) 3 (5.0%) 2 (3.3%) 0 0 6 15 0.25 2010

Total 1232 23.4% 944 (76.6%) 194 (15.7%) 83 (6.7%) 9 (0.7%) 2 (0.2%) 57 834 0.68 Island 1193 28.9% 848 (71.1%) 151 (12.7%) 110 (9.2%) 47 (3.9%) 37 (3.1%) 413 5154 4.32

Labrador 62 0.0% 62 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 2009 Total 1255 27.5% 910 (72.5%) 151 (12.0%) 110 (8.8%) 47 (3.7%) 37 (2.9%) 413 5154 4.12 Island 1207 30.2% 842 (69.8%) 161 (13.3%) 118 (9.8%) 49 (4.1%) 37(3.1%) 413 5238 4.34

Labrador 134 9.0% 122 (91.0%) 11 (8.2%) 1 (0.7%) 0 0 4 17 0.13 2008 Total 1341 28.1% 964 (71.9%) 172 (12.8%) 119 (8.9%) 49 (3.7%) 37 (2.8%) 413 5255 3.92 Island 1090 34.0% 719 (65.9%) 178 (16.3%) 113 (10.4%) 51 (4.7%) 29 (2.7%) 405 4713 4.32

Labrador 125 44.0% 70 (56.0%) 24 (19.2%) 11 (8.8%) 10 (8.0%) 10 (8,0%) 108 893 7.14 2007 Total 1215 35.1% 789 (64.9%) 202 (16.6%) 124 (10.2%) 61 (5.0%) 39 (3.2%) 405 5606 4.6 Island 1037 26.7% 760 (73.3%) 174 (16.8%) 78 (7.5%) 23 (2.2%) 2 (0.2%) 56 1058 1.02

Labrador 119 63.9% 43 (36.1%) 15 (12.6%) 23 (19.3%) 11 (9.2%) 27 (22.7%) 137 2210 18.57 2006 Total 1156 30.5% 803 (69.5%) 189 (16.3%) 101 (8.7%) 34 (2.9%) 29 (2.5%) 137 3268 2.83

2005 Island 1060 12.9% 923 (87.9%) 86 (8.1%) 40 (3.8%) 9 (0.8%) 2 (0.2%) 48 493 0.46

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Once again while large areas of the Province still appear to have no or low HL populations, there were three localized areas (Zinc Mine Rd on Northern Peninsula; North of St. Albans on south coast; Little Harbour on isthmus of Avalon Peninsula) where HL forecast results were moderate to severe. In Figure 12 an increase in the number of locations forecasted to have trace to light populations was also noted in the area between Stephenville and Corner Brook, as well as, the Northern Peninsula. Conversely, the number of trace to light points appeared to decrease around Red Indian Lake in central.

Supplementary forecast sampling was conducted in the Zinc Mine Rd. (14 locations), St. Albans (9 locations) areas and in an area southeast of the TCH Stephenville cut-off (7 locations). Sampling at these 30 locations was used to better delineate areas forecast to have M-S populations/damage in 2013. In the Zinc Mine Road areas just north of Daniel’s Harbour, a total of 3708 ha of susceptible forest area are forecast to have M-S populations/damage levels in 2013. Five separate areas were identified ranging in size from 105 to 2074 ha (Figure 13). In the St. Albans area, a total of 2812 ha of susceptible forest area is forecast to have M-S population/damage in 2013. Here, three separate areas were identified ranging in size from 206 to 2203 ha. In the area southeast of the Stephenville cut-off, all supplementary samples were nil to low. Other than the one moderate forecast point found during the initial survey, no other forecast information could be used to delineate a polygon area.

At the time of this reporting discussion is on-going with District and Headquarters staff to examine impacts that may result to the wood supply and harvesting plans within these areas, as well as, any other implications to other management objectives. The risk of these populations spreading into other forest areas of particular interest or of greater concern to forest managers will also be considered. If control is deemed necessary, various options including re-scheduled harvesting (or salvage) alone (i.e. forest areas have reached maturity and are ready for harvest within the next five-years) or in combination with aerial control using B.t.k. (i.e. protect young stands that have not reached maturity) will be considered.

As always, any control recommendations brought forward will require approval by government and regulatory bodies.

Figure 12. Initial fall forecast results from 2011 and 2012 showing expected hemlock looper population/damage levels in the Province in 2012 and 2013.

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Figure 14. M-S defoliation from spruce budworm in Province of Quebec in 2012 (Therrien, 2012).

Eastern Spruce Budworm – The eastern spruce budworm (SBW) is another major pest that has caused large-scale impacts on NL’s forests. The last outbreak of this insect pest began on the island in the early 1970’s and ended in the late 80’s. During that period large-scale aerial control programs (Figure 6) and salvage operations were needed to mitigate impacts. Since then populations of this pest have remained low on the island. In contrast, populations of this insect have been active in Labrador for the last 6 years, particularly around the Goose Bay area.

Given the growth losses and tree mortality to spruce and fir that occurs during outbreaks, the Province remains committed to monitoring for this important insect pest. The need to maintain a monitoring effort has been heightened with the increase in SBW populations noted in the Province of Quebec since 2004 (Figure 14). Populations have increased steadily reaching ca. 2.25 million hectares in 2012, with additional increases expected in the future. Unlike previous outbreaks in Quebec, the most recent outbreak has started further north along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River and north of Lac St-Jean. Obviously one of the concerns is that as these outbreaks continue to grow there is an increased likelihood or potential for flights of adult

Zinc Mine Road St. Albans

Figure 13. Initial and supplementary fall forecast results with point locations and forecast polygons showing areas (ha) expected to have M-S population/damage in 2013.

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0.010.020.030.040.050.060.070.080.090.0

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Figure 15. General trend (avg. moths/trap) from SBW pheromone trapping results on island.

moths from Quebec reaching NL. Radar tracking studies and observations in the 1970’s indicated that with favourable winds and meteorological conditions SBW moths from other Provinces were making their way to NL. Female moths in these flights still had 40-50% of their egg laying compliment. The resulting SBW populations from the combined egg laying from both local and immigrant moths eventually leads to populations overcoming natural controls resulting in outbreaks.

Pheromone trapping survey: A small network of 49 IDMC pheromone trapping locations was established on the island beginning in 2000 to help with the monitoring of low density SBW populations. Another goal of this network was to also help in the detection of sudden increases in trap catches along the leading edge or western portion of the island where adult moths may be blown in.

Given the continued increases noted in SBW populations in the Province of Quebec, this network of traps was increased to 100 locations in 2012 to assist with detection and provide better sampling coverage across the island. Along with the addition of more traps on the west coast, with the help of Parks Canada and DNR District staff, several traps (Gros Morne National Park; St. Georges District Office) were also routinely monitored to record trap catches over the season. The goal of the routine monitoring was to try to determine if moths caught in these traps included those coming in from other areas. With the help of DNR District staff, eight pheromone traps were also placed and routinely monitored in the Goose Bay area where SBW populations were thought to be collapsing. The original goal was to gather additional information on trap thresholds associated with lower SBW populations, but it also provided the opportunity to compare the number of moths caught over the season to accumulated degree-days and the moth flight period predicted by the spruce budworm phenology model incorporated into BioSIM (see Appendix B). The latter is a software tool that can be used to predict biological events in the life-cycle of insects through the integration of temperature and insect phenology models.

In 2012, two non-saturating (2 Unitraps or 1 Unitrap and 1Multi-Pher® I trap) containing a 330ug SBW flex lure from Contech Enterprises Inc. and a Vaportape killing strip were placed at each of the 108 locations. Multi-Pher® traps are to be replaced with Unitrap non-saturating traps given the difficulty in recent years in obtaining quantities of the former. Before doing so, however, a subset of 67 trapping locations was used to test for difference in trap catches between the two trap designs (see Appendix C).

Traps were placed on the island from June 12th to June 29th and retrieved from August 3rd to August 17th. In Labrador traps were placed on July 5-6th and retrieved from August 14th to August 17th. Traps not checked routinely by cooperators were checked once or several times between trap placement and retrieval. Trapping results on the island indicate that the number of SBW moths caught in 2012 increased (Figure 15, Table 4).

Table 4. Summary of eastern spruce budworm pheromone trap catch results with frequency and percentage of traps shown in arbitrary trap catch ranges based on average moths/trap; maximum trap catch and mean trap catch - 2000 to 2012.

Avg. number of moths/trap by location in ranges

Year

Number of

locations

Traps/ Location

% of positive

locations 0 >0-10 >10-50 >50-100 >100-200 >200-300

>300

Max-imum trap

catch

Mean trap

catch

2012 100 2 99.0% 1 (1.0%) 21 (21.0%) 60 (60.0%) 14 (14.0%) 3 (3.0%) 0 1 (1.0%) 504 34.22 2011 49 2 91.8*% 4 (8.2%) 38 (77.6%) 3 (6.1%) 1 (2.0%) 2 (4.1%) 0 1 (2.0%) 370 19.6 2010 47 2 87.2% 6 (12.8%) 23 (48.9%) 15 (31.9%) 1 (2.1%) 0 1 (2.1%) 1 (2.1%) 435 24.6 2009 49 2 98.0% 1 (2.0%) 13 (26.5%) 24 (49.0%) 4 (8.2%) 3 (6.1%) 2 (4.1%) 2 (4.1%) 1701 83.8 2008 50 2 100% 0 17 (34.0%) 23 (46.0%) 4 (8.0%) 3 (6.0%) 1 (2.0%) 2 (4.0%) 445 48.5 2007 48 2 95.8% 2 (4.2%) 4 (8.3%) 23 (47.9%) 10 (20.8%) 6 (12.5%) 1 (2.1%) 2 (4.2%) 440 66.6 2006 48 2 35.4% 31 (64.6%) 17 (35.4%) 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.6 2005 43 2 72.1% 12 (27.9%) 21 (48.8%) 4 (9.3%) 4 (9.3%) 1 (2.3%) 1 (2.3%) 0 209 18.2 2004 39 2 76.9% 9 (23.1%) 25 (64.1%) 4 (10.3%) 1 (2.6%) 0 0 0 86 6.2 2003 35 2 57.1% 15 (42.9%) 18 (51.4%) 2 (5.7%) 0 0 0 0 24 2.6 2002 37 2 62.2% 14 (37.8%) 15 (40.5%) 8 (21.6%) 0 0 0 0 31 5.5 2001 39 2 82.1% 7 (17.9%) 24 (61.5%) 8 (20.5%) 0 0 0 0 48 6.3 2000 35 2 65.7% 12 (34.3%) 20 (57.1%) 3 (8.6%) 0 0 0 0 28 3.9

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This increase in the average number of moths per location can also be observed spatially by comparing trapping results on the island for 2011 and 2012 (Figure 16). In 2012, an increase of one or two arbitrary trap catch ranges was observed in trap catches along the west coast and central portions of the island.

Locations with the highest trap catches (i.e. areas circled with red dash line) were once again halfway up the west coast (i.e. Sally’s Cove – 2011 – 370 moths/trap; Gros Morne National Park – 2012 – 501 moths/trap). Despite the higher trap catches found, no larval feeding or defoliation was observed at any island locations. Defoliation is typically evident in Quebec when trap catches reach these levels (personal communication Dr. Jacques Régnière). In 2012, SBW trap catches in Labrador with 408 to 688 moths/trap had light defoliation and trap catches with 728 to 1225 moths/trap had moderate to severe defoliation. Given the absence of defoliation on the west coast and the presence of high moth counts raises the question as to whether or not moth immigration is occurring.

To test if moths caught were immigrants, traps catches from locations routinely monitored were compared with the predicted flight period (as determined using BioSIM and the spruce budworm phenology model) for local moths (Figure 17). If moths were caught either before or after the local flight period, these moths had to come from another source. At both locations, a sharp increase in trap catches occurred around the same time during the third week of July. This sharp increase, although falling within the expected flight period for local moths, is in stark contrast to the gradual increases and declines noted in moth catches observed in Labrador (see Appendix B). This suggests that immigration of moths occurred. Additional information will be gathered to determine if the meteorological conditions were favourable for an in-flight of moths during this time period. If immigration is occurring this may be the precursor required for populations to build-up and overwhelm natural controls leading to another outbreak.

The above in combination with rising populations in Quebec and increases in other jurisdictions highlights the need for close monitoring of this major forest pest. In 2012, additional forecast sampling was conducted around trapping locations with higher trap catches (see page 16).

Sally’s Cove

Gros Morne NP

St. Georges DNR Office

Figure 16. Eastern spruce budworm pheromone trapping locations and results by arbitrary trap catch ranges for island (2011 and 2012), and in Labrador (2012).

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In 2013, monitoring of SBW populations will continue using the same network of traps established in 2012. Additional locations along the west coast of the island will also be identified for routine monitoring. Moths captured in 2013 will also be provided to a genome research project underway within Canada. Through this project, differences in DNA found between separate populations of SBW will eventually be used to determine where moths originate from. Aerial Overview Survey: An aerial overview survey to detect and map the severity and extent of damage caused by SBW was conducted in Labrador from July 16-19th , particularly around the Goose Bay area and south shore of Lake Melville. Additional flying was also conducted on August 15-18th. Observations from the air and on the ground indicated that SBW populations did not decline in the Goose Bay area as expected – rather, the area of M-S defoliation increased from 21,790 ha in 2011 to 33,255 ha in 2012 (Figure 18). Defoliation was particularly severe along the Kenamu River and southern portions of the Carter Basin. Small pockets of damage also continue to persist in Northwest River and Sheshatshiu. Damage was also observed along the Churchill and Goose Rivers. Along the south shore of Lake Melville, the M-S defoliation detected in the vicinity of the English River in 2011, appeared to be greatly reduced in 2012. This is now the sixth straight year that SBW defoliation has been mapped in Labrador. No SBW defoliation was observed or reported on the island in 2012.

Fall Egg Mass Survey: Collection of branch samples to determine the number of SBW egg masses has been conducted in Labrador since 2007 (Table 5). Although sampling distribution/intensity can influence detection (i.e. areas can potentially be missed with fewer samples over large areas), the increase in populations in 2012 was still unexpected given the sampling and results found in 2011 (Table 5, Figure 19). This led to a small study to look at the sampling protocol being used for SBW. In particular, does sampling of SBW egg masses later in the fall lead to finding fewer egg masses due to natural weathering? The original protocol developed for sampling SBW egg masses was for branch samples to be taken in early September. With the collapse of SBW populations in the late 1980’s and greater emphasis on surveying for HL, the timing for branch sampling when done for SBW was conducted a month and half later in the fall to coincide with the later phenology of the HL. This was primarily done to reduce transportation costs associated with the use of helicopters. With a longer period until branch samples are taken, there is additional time for natural weathering and destruction of egg masses and a potential for under forecasting population/damage levels. To examine this more closely a subset of 43 trees were sampled in the Goose Bay area in late August to determine the number of egg masses found on whole mid-crown branch samples. These same trees were sampled again later in the fall during the same time period that HL forecast sampling is conducted. The number of egg masses found on branch samples was then compared. The results of the study found that fewer egg masses were found on branches collected later in the fall (see Appendix D). These results will influence the timing of this survey in 2013; however, the timing remained unchanged in 2012. Branch samples were again collected in mid to late October and sent to the lab in Pasadena where trained observers examined the branches for the presence of hatched egg masses. Although these results potentially under forecast population/damage levels, they do indicate that SBW populations will remain active again around the Goose Bay area in 2013.

Gros Morne National Park

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Figure 17. Comparison of predicted moth flight and actual trap catches for eastern spruce budworm adults at St. Georges DNR Office and Gros Morne National Park Headquarters.

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Figure 18. Areas (ha) of M-S spruce budworm defoliation mapped around the Goose Bay area in Labrador – 2009 to 2012.

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Table 5. Provincial summary of spruce budworm egg mass survey results by damage / population categories - 2007 to 2012.

A total of 40 locations were assessed with 18 locations forecast to have no damage, 17 locations forecast to have light damage, and 5 locations forecast to have moderate damage (Mud Lake, Kenamu River, and 3 locations on south shore of Lake Melville near English River) – Table 5, Figure 19). All areas forecast to have M-S populations/damage are outside of the management area for District 19a.

On the island, thirteen locations were sampled in an attempt to detect and forecast SBW populations (Figure 20). Locations assessed were at or near SBW pheromone trapping locations found to have high numbers of moths. Special attention was given to the Sally’s Cove and Rocky Harbour areas where trap catches were highest in 2011 and 2012. Sampling was also conducted at or near a number

Egg masses/10 sq m of foliage by location in damage thresholds

Year Provincial

area

Number of

locations

% of positive

locations Nil 0

Light 1-107

Moderate 108-258

Severe >258

Maximumegg

masses / 10 sq m

Total egg

masses

Mean egg

masses/ 10 sq m

Island 13 0.0% 13 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0 Labrador 40 55.0% 18 (45.0%) 17 (42.5%) 5 (12.5%) 0 257 1235 30.9 2012

Total 53 41.5% 18 (58.5%) 17 (32.1%) 5 (9.4%) 0 257 1235 23.3 Island 3 33.3% 2 (66.6%) 1 (33.3%) 0 0 14 2 0.22

Labrador 39 56.4% 17 (43.6%) 19 (48.7%) 2 (5.1%) 1 (2.6%) 1677 2537 65.1 2011 Total 42 54.8% 19 (45.2%) 20 (47.6%) 2 (4.8%) 1 (2.4%) 1677 2539 60.5

2010 Labrador 50 0.0% 50 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 2009 Labrador 35 88.6% 4 (11.4%) 10 (28.6%) 11 (31.4%) 10 (28.6%) 1780 11688 333.9 2008 Labrador 25 60.0% 10 (40.0%) 15 (60.0%) 0 0 90 221 8.8 2007 Labrador 18 0.0% 18 (100%) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0

Figure 19. Spruce budworm forecast survey results in and around Goose Bay area in Labrador in 2011 and 2012.

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- 2012

Figure 21. Moderate to severe defoliation caused by balsam fir sawfly in Connaigre Peninsula and St. Albans areas in 2011 and 2012.

Figure 20. SBW egg mass sampling locations and results on island – 2012.

LegendEgg masses/10 sq m:

0 (Nil)

>258 (Severe)

National Parks

1 - 108 (Light)>108 - 258 (Moderate)

Forested Areas

of other locations (Botwood Highway, Bad Bay, Zinc Mine Road, Rattler Brook, St. Georges). No SBW egg masses were found on branch samples from any of the locations assessed.

Forecast surveys for SBW will continue to be an important tool for predicting populations and damage levels for this major pest. In 2013, special attention will be given to initiating this survey during the first week of September to avoid natural weathering and loss of egg masses. To improve DNR’s forecasting abilities in the future; consideration should be given to securing lab facilities where second instar larval (L2) washes can be conducted. This over wintering stage of the insect and is not prone to weathering, provides a greater window for sampling, and gives better predictions of populations and subsequent damage as it accounts for first instar dispersal losses and is closer to the larval stages causing damage.

Balsam Fir Sawfly – The balsam fir sawfly (BFS) is another major forest pest that is native to the Province. Unlike the HL, SBW, and other defoliators which attack the current-year foliage, the BFS feeds on old foliage and uses the current-year foliage predominantly for egg laying. Although outbreaks of this pest are frequent, they are usually short-lived lasting only 3-4 years due to the presence of a naturally occurring virus and other natural controls (i.e. predators and parasites). The defoliation caused by BFS reduces diameter growth with recovery to pre-defoliation growth rates taking up to 10-years following moderate to severe feeding. Mortality of host trees may also occur especially in areas where other defoliators are active and feeding on the current-year foliage. The last BFS outbreak occurred on the island from 1991 to 2009. During this outbreak aerial control programs were conducted to mitigate impacts caused by this pest.

Pheromone trapping survey: Currently there is no artificial pheromone lure available for detecting and monitoring BFS populations. A research project to identify and develop a synthetic BFS pheromone for population monitoring and field testing is on-going through the SERG – International (SERG-I). This may provide a useful tool for low density population monitoring and early detection of rising populations of this forest pest.

Aerial Overview Survey: The primary means for detecting this pest is currently through observations of damage made by IDMC staff and reports received from DNR District staff, forest industry, and the public. In 2011, damage from BFS was reported by District 7 staff on the Connaigre Peninsula (Figure 21). During the 2011 aerial overview survey, 12937 ha of M-S defoliation caused by BFS were mapped in scrub forest stands. In 2012, the area of M-S defoliation increased to 29246 ha with feeding damage caused by a complex of insects including BFS (Figure 21).

Most of this defoliation (28078 ha) was again in the Connaigre Pen-insula area in scrub forest stands. Another 1167 ha, however, was in forest stands that had been pre-commercialy thinned in the St. Albans area. Unlike in 2011, no areas with light BFS feeding damage were observed from the ground southeast of Gros Morne National Park in 2012.

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Fall Egg Survey: Branch samples were taken from a total of 127 locations to forecast BFS populations for 2013. Collected samples were transported to the lab in Pasadena where trained observers recorded the total number of BFS eggs found on 50-cm branch tips (one branch/tree; 5 trees/location) from each location. Forecast results (Table 6; Figure 22) indicate that BFS populations increased slightly in 2012. Although populations remain absent or low in many areas, an increase was noted in the St. Albans area. Here three locations are forecast to be moderate and three locations are forecast to be severe in 2013. These locations fall within pre-commercially thinned forested areas. Supplementary sampling of an additional four locations was conducted to better delineate the area (3814 ha) forecast to have M-S populations / damage in 2013 (Figure 23). Approximately 2200 ha of this same area is also forecast to have M-S damage from HL in 2013. Conversely, populations on the Connaigre Peninsula appear to be collapsing with areas still forecast to have M-S defoliation being primarily in scrub stands. In west-central NL, BFS populations will again be active with 4 locations forecast to have light damage and one location north of Bonne Bay Little Pond forecast to have moderate defoliation.

Table 6. Provincial summary of balsam fir sawfly egg survey results by damage / population categories - 2000 to 2012.

Total eggs per location (five trees; one 45-cm branch tip/tree) by damage threshold

Year Provincial

area

Number of

locations

% of positive

locations Nil 0

Light 1-100

Moderate 101-200

Severe >200

Maximumeggs/

location

Total eggs

Mean eggs/

location

2012 Island 127 18.1% 104 (81.9%) 13 (10.2%) 6 (4.7%) 4 (3.1%) 347 2538 20.0 2011 Island 119 15.9% 100 (84.0%) 9 (7.6%) 2 (1.7%) 8 (6.7%) 1764 4668 39 2010 Island 123 41.5% 72 (58.5%) 40 (32.5%) 4 (3.3%) 7 (5.7%) 672 4172 34 2009 Island 188 46.3% 101 (53.7%) 75 (39.9%) 4 (2.1%) 8 (4.3%) 672 4957 26 2008 Island 198 83.8% 32 (16.2%) 134 (67.7%) 13 (6.6%) 19 (9.6%) 4339 22556 114 2007 Island 222 77.4% 50 (22.5%) 136 (61.3%) 14 (6.3%) 22 (9.9%) 2080 17500 79 2006 Island 237 55.3% 106 (44.7%) 87 (36.7%) 13 (5.5%) 31 (13.1%) 1778 19365 211 2005 Island 239 54.4% 109 (45.6%) 70 (29.3%) 18 (7.5%) 42 (17.6%) 3210 32936 138 2004 Island 209 57.4% 89 (42.6%) 77 (36.8%) 10 (4.8%) 33 (15.8%) 1435 18297 88 2003 Island 191 70.7% 56 (29.3%) 93 (48.7%) 23 (12.0%) 19 (9.9%) 1949 14701 77 2002 Island 285 62.2% 151 (53.0%) 94 (33.0%) 17 (6.0%) 23 (8.0%) 1042 15734 55 2001 Island 291 62.2% 110 (37.8%) 115 (39.5%) 15 (5.2%) 51 (17.5%) 4936 44847 154 2000 Island 252 61.1% 98 (38.9%) 59 (23.4%) 26 (10.3%) 69 (27.4%) 5212 59010 234

Figure 22. Map of balsam fir sawfly egg survey results showing predicted population/damage levels for island based on 2011 and 2012 forecast.

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Figure 23. Map of M-S BFS forecast area and points – St. Albans.

Figure 24. Map of areas affected by spruce beetle in Goose Bay area in Labrador.

Spruce Beetle – The spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby) (SPBTL) is one of the most widely distributed bark beetles in North America, ranging from Newfoundland and Labrador to Interior Alaska to southern Arizona. The SPBTL is a native pest that attacks mature and overmature spruce with white spruce being the preferred host, but all species of spruce can be attacked and killed. Immature stages of the beetle cause the damage with larvae feeding under the bark eventually girdling the trees and killing them. Outbreaks of spruce beetle have been on the rise in recent years in various jurisdictions. Climate change is thought to be partly responsible with warmer winters increasing the survival of over wintering stages.

Aerial Overview Survey: Aerial surveys on the island and in Labrador continue to detect areas of SPBTL damage. Damage detected includes yellow trees (those recently attacked), red trees (those recently killed), and older mortality. Damaged trees continue to be found on the island, particularly in the Humber River Valley.

In Labrador SPBTL damaged trees continue to be found in the Grand Lake road and Mud Lake / Kenemu River areas. The area with severe defoliation and dead trees only expanded 1567 ha in 2012 (Figure 24). In the previous seven years the area affected by SPBTL continued to expand by 3000 to 8000 ha annually. The

total area now affected is 43312 ha. Within the majority of this area there is now older mortality characterized by grey trees and fallen timber and fewer yellow and red trees. Two-thirds of the area (27879 ha) is outside of the District 19a management area and is in non-commercial forest, some of which is scrub on poor sites. The other 15433 ha falls within the District 19a management area.

Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle – The brown spruce longhorn beetle (Tetropium fuscum Fabricius) (BSLB) is an invasive forest insect that was first introduced into Halifax in the late 1980’s. Life-stages found under the bark of wood packaging material or pallets stored at a nearby container port are suspected as the source. Adult beetles emerging from these materials dispersed into nearby spruce stands in Point Pleasant Park.

In its native range BSLB is a secondary pest, but in Nova Scotia it has been found to attack healthy spruce of all species. Similar to the native spruce beetle, immature stages of the BSLB feed underneath the bark of host-trees, eventually girdling and killing them. Despite early efforts to eradicate and prevent the spread of this pest, results from trapping conducted by the CFIA indicate that populations of this pest have continued to spread in Nova Scotia during the last seven years (Neville, 2012). Figure 25 provides a map of all the sites where trapping was conducted in Atlantic Canada, including a map of positive sites where this insect is found. In 2011,

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Figure 25. Trapping results for brown spruce longhorn beetle survey conducted by CFIA in Atlantic Canada – 2006 to 2012.

2012

BSLB adults were trapped for the first time in Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick. Firewood brought in by campers is suspected as the source of beetles at this site. For invasive species, identifying high-risk commodities and pathway is extremely important. In the case of BSLB these commodities include spruce round wood with bark on it; firewood; and wood packaging material. In NL, BSLB traps were placed by CFIA staff at high-risk sites including ports and wood processing facilities. Trapping was conducted at a total of 19 sites: 5 traps ((2 in port area and 3 in forested areas (Pippy Park; site of old Salmonier tree nursery; Donovan's Industrial Park)); Argentia Port / Industrial Park; Jamestown Lumber (Jamestown); Sexton Lumber (Bloomfield); NL Hardware (Clarenville); Paul Garland Forest Products (Tilton); Gander International Airport; Salmonid Interpretation Centre (Grand-Falls - Windsor); Woodale Provincial Tree Nursery (Grand-Falls - Windsor); and 6 traps around the port and at sawmills in the Corner Brook Area. No adult BSLB were caught in traps at any of these sites.

Although these results are welcomed, the proximity of positive finds in Atlantic Canada certainly reinforces the need to remain vigilant in NL. Although the movement of certain high-risk commodities is regulated by the CFIA under the Federal Plant Protection Act, additional public education efforts in cooperation with other Departments concerned about invasive alien species should be considered to

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Figure 26. Discoloured foliage /damage from Scleroderris (EU) canker observed in

highlight the risk of introducing BSLB to the Province through the movement of commodities like spruce logs and firewood from sources outside the Province. Additional steps to reduce or stop entry of high-risk commodities (i.e. wood bins for firewood) should also be considered for points of entry (i.e. North Sydney).

Other Insect Pests – A number of other insect pests were also detected or reported during the 2012 field season. European Pine Shoot Moth - This insect continues to be a common pest found in plantations of red pine on the island. Hairy Poplar Sawfly – Reports of localized damage by this pest were provided by the public and confirmed by DNR (IDMC and District) staff in the St. Anthony area in 2011. Large numbers of sawfly were again active in St. Anthony in 2012 with balsam poplar trees being severely defoliated. Whitemarked Tussock Moth – Life-stages and feeding damage from this insect were found during the aerial survey in the Connaigre Peninsula and St. Albans areas in 2012. During the fall survey, defoliation was also observed near Transmission Pond and Bald Mountain. Tussock moth life-stages were also evident during this survey at a number of locations on NTS map sheets 127 and 141. Blackheaded Budworm - Life-stages and feeding damage from this insect were evident in the St. Albans area in 2012. Forecast results from eight locations indicate that populations of this insect are expected to remain at trace to low in the same area in 2013.

Forest Disease Pests Scleroderris (EU – European Strain) Canker of Pines – The European strain of Scleroderris (EU) (SCLEU) canker is an invasive disease pest. It was detected for the first time in NL in the St. John’s area in 1979. SCLEU is a serious disease of hard pines that causes branch dieback, stem cankers and tree mortality in both young and mature trees with red pine (rP) being the most susceptible. Other pine species like jack pine, Scots pine, and Austrian pine are less susceptible and may not be killed; however, they can harbour the disease and produce spores capable of infecting other pines. Historical finds of SCLEU on the Avalon Peninsula led to it becoming a quarantine zone under the Federal Plant Protection Act. In 1988, confirmed sites (Bonavista Peninsula; Sunnyside) with SCLEU finds north of the Avalon were eradicated.

Temperatures of 0-4°C and wet conditions for periods of 20-days are ideal for short range dispersal and intensification of this disease through the release of spores. The spores require moisture and are spread through rain splashing during wet periods. Conversely, the long range movement of this disease is possible through the movement of living infected plant material (i.e. seedlings, trees). For 28 years, quarantine regulations to prevent the movement of living materials, the natural barrier of the isthmus on the Avalon Peninsula, and past eradication efforts were successful in limiting the spread of this disease. In 2007, however, a rP plantation in the Berry Hill Pond area approximately 400 km from the quarantine zone was found to have discoloured red trees with the disease. To address this new introduction, eradication work was conducted in 2008. This involved cutting down all host rP material - cut tops and branches were placed in wind rows and the stems cut in 4 foot lengths and cross-piled. Repeated attempts to burn this material, however, were unsuccessful.

In 2011, red discoloration of foliage (Figure 26) was again observed in another rP area approximately 47 ha in size 3¼ km north of the 2007 site. Several weeks later, aerial surveys found discoloured trees in a 21 ha rP plantation in the White Hills area north of Clarenville. Samples collected in both areas confirmed the presence of SCLEU. Staff from the CFIA in St. John’s were contacted by DNR and made aware of these finds. To address these new finds a working group was formed to provide recommendations to the Department on how to address this problem. The working group with representation from DNR (IDMC, Silviculture, Regions / Districts), the CFIA, the CFS, and the Department of Environment and Conservation also discussed impacts from this disease. Indirect impacts related to the movement of commodities and materials deemed to pose a risk for spreading the disease caused by quarantine zones and regulations were minimal, however, the direct impacts to red pine trees were felt to pose a significant threat. This included impacts to both planted rP representing a silvicultural investment of $3.1 million dollars, as well as, impacts to rare indigenous or native red pine stands of ecological significance. Work conducted by Bruce Roberts (1985) identified 20 indigenous rP stands representing an area of approximately 761 ha or 12470 trees.

Given the threat posed by SCLEU, the working group recommended a number of items for dealing with the SCLEU problem. Two of the

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Basal needle yellowing and reddening Entire needle turns red – needles fall leaving dead candles Infection causes dead tops/tips Dead trees Pycnidia/tfruiting struct- ures at base of needles

Figure 27. Symptoms found on red pine associated with infection from European scleroderris canker.

items included: i) conducting a directed survey from the air and ground in 2012 to determine if this disease could be found at more sites; and ii) conducting eradication work at infected sites to eliminate the threat of spread of the disease to other areas. Also, under CFIA regulations, prohibition of movement certificates were put in place in 2012 for sites identified as having the disease in 2011. This included not only the infected stands themselves, but a 1-km buffer around them. The goal of the prohibition of movement is to prevent the spread of this disease by prohibiting the movement of living pine material from infected to uninfected areas.

To address the question of this disease being found elsewhere, GIS layers showing areas with planted and indigenous red pine were compiled by Silvicultural staff. This information included GIS forest layer information, silvicultural planting records, and silvicultural records from the Districts. This GIS information was then incorporated into maps and GPS layers used by IDMC staff. A total of 463 confirmed sites with rP as the dominant species were identified. Training of field staff in recognition of disease symptomology (Figure 27) was conducted by Dr. Gary Warren (presentation) and Mr. Bob Gregory (field) - the latter involved recognition of symptoms at sites already known to have the disease. Protocols that included the wearing of disposable Tyvek® coveralls and the rinsing of boots using a pressurized sprayer with a 10% solution of Javex were also instituted to prevent spread of this disease by field crews.

During the months of July, August and early September trained staff visited and assessed a total of 182 locations using a combination of ground (i.e. walk-thru’s) and aerial assessments (i.e. inaccessible areas) – Figure 28. This represented approximately 40% of the 463 sites originally identified. Samples with characteristic symptomology were also collected from suspect sites and provided to Dr. Gary Warren of the CFS and the CFIA lab in Ottawa for testing to determine if the disease was present or absent. Of the 182 locations

Figure 28. Map showing red pine areas (n=463) identified from forest layers and silvicultural records and map with locations assessed in 2012 showing positive and negative

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assessed, 178 were found to be negative with no disease symptoms, however, 4 new sites (Bay d’Espoir Hwy, Terra Nova, Seal Bay-Kippens Ridge, Cold Brook) were found to be positive with SCLEU. The Cold Brook site, although found to be positive with SCLEU, was also heavily infected with Sirococcus shoot blight. Sirococcus is a native fungal disease that kills the current-year’s shoots with repeated attacks having a cumulative effect resulting in foliage loss, stunted growth, and eventual mortality (see images on front cover of report). Although this disease has been active in the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, this is the first time that infection has been observed on planted red pine at this scale in Newfoundland and Labrador (personal communication, Gary Warren).

While knowing 98% of the sites assessed were symptomatically negative (i.e. no obvious signs of infection) is encouraging, this now brings the total number of sites found to be positive for SCLEU outside of the quarantine zone (Avalon Peninsula) up to seven locations (Table 7). With the exception of the Terra Nova site, all other sites found to be positive were in the 20 to 30 age class range and from planting stock originating from the Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery. To date there has been no evidence of SCLEU at this nursery. The Terra Nova site originated from bareroot stock from the Back River Tree Nursery, a tree nursery known to have SCLEU infected trees. Why disease expression has been absent from this site until very recently, however, is puzzling. While three locations (Berry Hill, Conne River, Bay d’Espoir Hwy) are very close together, the remaining locations are a considerable distance apart. This certainly raises additional questions with respect to identification of all the pathways and mechanisms of spread associated with this disease?

Table 7. Summary information for seven sites found to be positive for Scleroderrris (EU) canker in Newfoundland.

In 2012, through the efforts of District 14 DNR staff and the cooperation of a private landowner in the Cold Brook area, steps were taken to eradicate the disease from the Cold Brook site by cutting and removing the merchantable wood from this location and leaving the cut branches and tops and any cut stems with cankers on site. The cut branches and tops and stems with cankers will be put into piles and burned in 2013. Information from a CFS pathologist specializing in SCLEU (personal communication, Dr. Gaston LaFlamme) indicated that there is very little risk of spreading this disease on the merchantable wood or cut stems, especially where cankers are not present. The merchantable wood will be used for sawlogs and firewood in the local area. Discussions and steps are underway to begin the process of harvesting and sanitizing the remaining sites in 2013. Until completed, prohibitions of movement will again be issued by the CFIA for each SCLEU infected site. Once the sites are sanitized they will be replanted to native tree species other than red pine.

In 2013, monitoring efforts for this disease will continue with more of a focus on the assessment of red pine plantations in close proximity to indigenous red pine stands. Consideration is also being given to the use of lower branch pruning of young red pine to prevent disease build-up particularly in or near indigenous stands.

Other Disease Pests – Several other disease pests were detected or reported during the 2012 field season. Red band needle blight – Damage from red band needle blight was also monitored in rP plantations / stands assessed for SCLEU in 2012. Of the 182 sites assessed, 139 (76%) had symptoms of red band needle blight damage. This can be an economically important disease of conifers with defoliation causing premature needle loss and reductions in yield. In cases where severe defoliation occurs over consecutive years it may also cause tree death, but typically it is not a tree killer like SCLEU. Sirococcus shoot blight – As previously indicated, severe damage from this disease was found in a rP plantation in Cold Brook in 2012. This is the first time that severe damage has been observed by this disease on rP in the Province. This disease has been the most serious disease of rP in Nova Scotia - the number of rP plantations infected by this disease in New Brunswick has also increased in the last 3 years. Sirococcus kills the current-year shoots with repeated attacks resulting in foliage loss, stunted growth and eventual tree mortality. A characteristic symptom of this disease is elongated needles that wilt and collapse at their base and bend sharply down giving a drooped appearance (see inset image on front

Year Detected

Location Name

Location

Year Planted

Area (ha)

Age Trees

Stock

Origin

Comments

2011 White Hills Approximately 10km NW of Clarenville, on the south side of the TCH (D.2)

1988 21 26 rP

Container Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery

75,000 seedlings shipped

2011 Berry Hill East side of Bay d'Espoir Hwy, south of Berry Hill Pond (D.7)

1989 48 25 rP

Container Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery

125,000 seedlings shipped

2011 Conne River West side of Bay d'Espoir Hwy. ca. 10 km south of Berry Hill (D. 7)

1987 91 25 jP Aerial Seeding

2012 Bay d'Espoir

Hwy East side of Bay d'Espoir Hwy, south of Berry Hill Pond (D.7)

1989 2 25 rP

Container Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery

2012 Terra Nova 3km up the Terra Nova River from bridge over the TCH (D.5)

1949 5 63 rP

Bareroot Back River Tree Nursery, Salmonier

Seed came from Ontario

2012 Seal Bay -

Kippens Ridge North of South Twin Lake (D.9) 1992 9 22

rP Container

Wooddale Provincial Tree Nursery

15,000 seedlings shipped

2012 Cold Brook West of community of Cold Brook (D.14) 1988 10 26 rP

Container

Private Nursery (Black Duck or Loch Leven, both in District 14)

Seed purchased from a private company in Nova Scotia

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cover). Spruce Needle Rust – Unlike in 2011, no reports of heavy needle rust infection were reported in the Goose Bay or Labrador City areas of Labrador in 2012. Some needle rust infection was observed in spruce plantations in central portions of the island in 2012. Although needle rust infection can be very high in some years, the rate of infection is usually not high enough in consecutive years to pose a significant threat to the trees.

Assessment of High Value Areas (Plantations and Thinnings)

The Province has made considerable investments in silviculture with annual expenditures of 11-12 million dollars in recent years. Currently there are approximately 250 000 hectares of high value silvicultural areas. This represents about 19 to 20% of the 1.3 million hectares of forest considered to be productive and operationally available for harvest on the island. Although aerial overview surveys and to a lesser extent forecast surveys provide some monitoring in these areas, to date there has been no specific or directed detection survey to monitor forest health (i.e. forest pest incidence and damage) in these silvicultural areas. This is even more critical given the absence of any routine or systematic (i.e. 5 or 10-year) silvicultural assessments in these areas following establishment.

Given the above, a directed survey in high-value areas was initiated in 2011 and continued in 2012. The purpose of this survey is to assess forest health within these areas by determining what forest insect and disease pests or abiotic agents are present and their relative abundance and damage observed. Given the prevalence of balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae (Ratz.) on balsam fir in the Province, this survey is also used to collect information on the incidence of balsam woolly adelgid (BWA) damage. BWA damage classes modified from work done by Schooley and Bryant (1978) are used to assess damage into broad classes of nil, light, moderate and severe. The methods used to conduct these assessments are similar to methods that were employed in the Province of New Brunswick to assess forest pest incidence in high-value areas (Lavigne, 2008) and also assess BWA damage (Lavigne, 2005). The methods, forms and navigational tools used to conduct this survey were described in Lavigne (2011). Essentially the goal is to conduct proportional sampling of high-value areas based on the amount of planted or thinned area and primary tree species.

In 2012, during the months of July and August, DNR’s IDMC staff assessed a total of 122 high-value locations (71 balsam fir thinnings; 51 plantations. This is in contrast to 132 locations assessed in 2011 (97 balsam fir thinnings; 35 plantations) - Figure 29.

In 2011, assessments were done primarily in Western Region with some assessments in central. In 2012, assessments shifted more to central and eastern portions of the island, with District 9 being the only area assessed in Western Region. In both years more bF thinnings were sampled than plantations. The total number of plantations and thinnings assessed in 2012 is summarized by Region, District, and primary tree species in Table 8.

Figure 29. Map showing the distribution of plantations and thinnings assessed during the 2011 and 2012 high-value survey on the island.

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Table 8. Summary of areas assessed during high-value survey conducted in 2012 by Region, District, silvicultural treatment, and primary tree species.

A summary of the forest pests detected in these areas indicated that twig attack from BWA and browsing by moose (Alces alces) were the two most common occurrences on bF (Table 9). Also recorded on bF at trace levels (i.e. only 1-5% of trees affected) were balsam gall midge (Dasineura balsamicola (Lintner)), witches broom , needle rust, red flag, and some snow damage. On spruce, the most common pest occurrences were spruce bud midge (Rhabdophaga swainei Felt), spruce galling aphids, and yellowheaded spruce sawfly (Pikonema alaskensis Rohwer). Also recorded on spruce was witches broom, needle rust, and rabbit browse. With the exception of yellowheaded spruce sawfly, most of the pests detected during the high-value survey are either minor pests or pests with little practical means for control.

Table 9. Summary of forest pests identified and their incidence in high-value areas assessed on the island in 2012.

* bF = balsam fir; bS = black spruce; wS = white spruce; wB = white birch; wP = white pine

Primary Tree Species

Region

District

Silvicultural Treatment bS wS bS/wS sp/bF bF/sp bF wB

Total 2 Plantations 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5

5 Plantations 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 7

6 Plantations 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4

Plantations Thinnings

7 6

0 0

0 1

1 3

0 7

0 2

1 0

9 19 8

Totals 13 0 1 4 7 2 1 28

Plantations Thinnings

5 2

1 0

0 0

0 1

0 0

0 7

0 0

6 10 10

Totals 7 1 0 1 0 6 0 26

Plantations Thinnings

13 1

0 0

0 0

0 3

0 6

0 7

0 0

13 17

Eastern

11 Totals 14 0 0 3 6 7 0 30

Plantations Thinnings

36 9

5 0

1 1

1 7

0 13

0 16

1 0

44 46

Eastern Region Totals

Totals 45 5 2 8 13 16 1 90

Plantations Thinnings

7 0

0 0

0 0

0 11

0 12

0 2

0 0

7 25

Western

11

Totals 7 0 0 11 12 2 0 32

Plantations Thinnings

7 0

0 0

0 0

0 11

0 12

0 2

0 0

7 25

Western Region Totals

Totals 7 0 0 11 12 2 0 32

Plantations Thinnings

43 9

5 0

1 1

1 18

0 25

0 18

1 0

51 71 Provincial

Total Overall Totals 52 5 2 19 25 18 1 122

Region

District

Silvicultural treatment

Tree

species*

Number of

assessments

Number with no pests or damage

Number with pests or damage

Pest or cause of damage

Frequency and % of trees affected

bS 2 2 0 - - 2 Plantation wS 4 4 0 - -

Subtotal 6 6 0 bS 7 7 0 - - 5 Plantation wS 1 1 0 - -

Subtotal 8 8 0 6 Plantation bS 4 3 1 Unknown 1 (6-30%)

bF 2 0 2 BWA 2(1-5%)

Eastern

8 Plantation bS 8 4 4 Spruce bud midge

Spruce gall aphid Unknown

2 (6-30%) 1 (6-30%) 1 (6-30%)

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Table 9. cont.

* bF = balsam fir; bS = black spruce; wS = white spruce; wB = white birch; wP = white pine (Note - totals in Table 9 will not match totals in Table 8 as multiple pests may have been recorded at a single location).

The presence of bF in thinnings and some plantations also provided a good opportunity to assess the levels of BWA damage found. A re-assessment and correction of the 2011 results indicated BWA damage assessments were conducted in 23 plantations and 94

Region

District

Silvicultural treatment

Tree

species*

Number of

assessments

Number with no pests or damage

Number with pests or damage

Pest or cause of damage

Frequency and % of trees affected

bF 23 0 23 BWA BWA BWA

Moose browse Snow damage Witches broom

4 (1-5%) 6 (6-30%) 4 (31-70%) 5 (6-30%) 1 (1-5%) 3 (1-5%)

bS 8 4 4 Spruce bud midge Spruce bud midge

2 (1-5%) 2 (6-30%)

wP 1 0 1 White pine blister rust 1 (31-70%) wS 1 0 1 Spruce gall aphid 1 (1-5%)

8 cont.

Thinning

bS/wS 1 0 1 Spruce bud midge 1 (6-30%) Subtotal 44 8 36

bS 5 4 1 Yellowheaded spruce sawfly

1 (31-70%)

wS 1 1 0

Plantation

wP 1 1 0 bF 11 1 10 BWA

BWA Moose browse

3 (1-5%) 5 (6-30%) 2 (6-30%)

10

Thinning

bS 5 5 0 Subtotal 23 12 11

bF 7 2 5 BWA BWA BWA

2 (1-5%) 2 (6-30%) 1 (31-70%)

Plantation

bS 16 13 3 Yellowheaded spruce sawfly

Yellowheaded spruce sawfly

Unknown

1 (1-5%) 1 6-30%) 1 (1-5%)

Thinning bF 27 1 26 BWA BWA BWA

Balsam gall midge Moose browse Moose browse Moose browse

3 (1-5%) 11 (6-30%) 1 (31-70%)

1 (1-5%) 1 (1-5%)

7 (6-30%) 2 (31-70%)

11

bS 7 6 1 Rabbit browse 1 (6-30%) Subtotal 57 22 35

Eastern cont.

Summary for Eastern Region 142 59 83 bS 7 7 0 Plantation wB 1 1 0 bF 29 10 19 BWA

BWA BWA

Moose browse Moose browse

Red flag Needle rust

Witches broom

4 (1-5%) 3 (6-30%) 2 (31-70%)

5 (1-5%) 1 (6-30%) 2 (1-5%) 1 (1-5%) 1 (1-5%)

bS 24 18 6 Spruce gall aphid Spruce bud midge Spruce needle rust

Witches broom Unknown

2 (6-30%) 1 (1-5%) 1 (1-5%) 1 (1-5%)

1 (6-30%) wS 2 2 0

9

Thinning

wP 1 1 0

Western

Summary for Western Region 64 39 25

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thinnings. In contrast, in 2012 BWA assessments were conducted in 8 plantations and 65 thinnings. A total of 5864 and 3140 bF trees were assessed and categorized into damage classes in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The number and percentage of trees and locations with Nil, Light, Moderate, and Severe damage in both years for each District are summarized in Table 10.

Table 10. Summary of BWA damage observed on bF trees assessed in high-value areas on the island in 2011 and 2012.

Figure 30 also shows the distribution of locations assessed for BWA and their overall damage ratings. With the exception of District 13 and 14 in Western Region, once again there was a higher incidence of trees with recorded BWA damage in Eastern Region. In particular Districts 8, 10 and 11 had a greater number of locations with an overall rating of light or moderate. In contrast, in Districts 9, 15, 16, 17 and 18 there were a greater number of locations with no BWA damage recorded or only light damage. This indicates that BWA is less active in these Districts. After two years of assessing BWA damage in high-value areas there appears to be a band where BWA is more active that extends from the southwest corner of the Province (District 14) up through the central portion of the island to District 8.

Where moose browse was also one of the more common damaging agents found in 2011 and 2012, the locations and percentage of coniferous trees (primarily bF; some wS) with browse were also examined spatially (Figure 31). Forty-seven or 36% of the locations assessed in 2011 had moose browse compared to twenty-three or 19% of the locations assessed in 2012. In the last two years browsing on coniferous species in high-value areas has been recorded in Districts 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16 and 17. In contrast, assessments

Damage ratings for trees pooled by District Overall (weighted) Damage Rating by Location Year

Region

District Nil Light Moderate Severe Dead

Total Trees Nil Light Moderate Severe Dead

Total

9 298 (84.7%)

52 (14.8%)

0 2 (0.5%)

0 352 3 (42.9%)

4 (57.1%)

0 0 0 7

12 137 (29.8%)

216 (47.0%)

71 (15.4%)

31 (6.7%)

5 (1.1%)

460 0 3 (50.0%)

3 (50.0%)

0 0 6

13 75 (43.9%)

50 (29.2%)

28 (16.4%)

18 (10.5%)

0 171 1 (33.3%)

0 2 (66.7%)

0 0 3

14 188 (41.3%)

135 (29.7%)

93 (20.4%)

35 (7.7%)

4 (0.9%)

455 0 4 (36.4%)

6 (54.5%)

1 (9.1%)

0 11

15 2269 (99.5%)

11 (0.46%)

1 (0.04%)

0 0 2281 39 (86.7%)

6 (13.3%)

0 0 0 45

16 428 (93.0%)

28 (6.1%)

4 (0.9%)

0 0 460 5 (55.6%)

4 (44.4%)

0 0 0 9

17 501 (98.0%)

8 (1.6%)

2 (0.4%)

0 0 511 11 (91.7%)

1 (8.3%)

0 0 0 12

Western

18 611 (93.9%)

28 (4.3%)

11 (1.7%)

1 (0.1%)

0 651

10 (71.4%)

4 (28.6%)

0 0 0 14

Western Totals 4504 (85.5%)

494 (9.4%)

189 (3.6%)

72 (1.4%)

9 (0.1%)

5268 69 (64.4%)

26 (24.3%)

11 (10.3%)

1 (0.9%)

0 107

10 108 (80.0%)

17 (12.6%)

9 (6.7%)

1 (0.7%)

0 135 0 2 (100.0%)

0

0 0 2 Eastern

11 224 (50.6%)

115 (26.0%)

71 (16.0%)

33 (7.4%)

0 443 0 5 (62.5%)

3 (37.5%)

0 0 8

Eastern Totals 332 (57.5%)

132 (22.8%)

80 (13.8%)

34 (5.9%)

0 578

0 7 (70.0%)

3 (30.0%)

0 0 10

2011

Overall Total 4836 (82.7%)

626 (10.7%)

269 (4.6%)

106 (1.8%)

9 (0.1%)

5846 69 (59.0%)

33 (28,2%)

14 (12.0%)

1 (0.8%)

0 117

Western 9 1225 (88.1%)

108 (7.8%)

53 (3.8%)

3 (0.2%)

1 (0.1%)

1390 13 (52.0%)

11 (44.0%)

1 (4.0%)

0 0 25

8 183 (48.8%)

112 (29.9%)

65 (17.3%)

15 (4.0%)

0 375 0

11 (73.3%)

4 (26.7%)

0 0 15

10 233 (60.7%)

113 (29.4%)

38 (9.9%)

0 0 384 1 (11.1%)

7 (77.8%)

1 (11.1%)

0 0 9

Eastern

11 600 (60.5%)

273 (27.5%)

103 (10.4%)

17 (1.7%)

3 (0.3%)

991 1 (4.2%)

18 (75.0%)

5 (20.8%)

0 0 24

Eastern Totals 1016 (58.1%)

498 (28.5%)

206 (11.8%)

32 (1.8%)

3 (0.2%)

1750 2 (4.2%)

36 (75.0%)

10 (20.8%)

0 0 48

2012

Overall Total 2241 (71.3%)

606 (19.3%)

259 (8.2%)

35 (1.1%)

4 (0.1%)

3140 15 (20.5%)

47 (64.4%)

11 (15.1%)

0 0 73

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conducted in Districts 2, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 14 had no records of moose browse. It is unclear if this is simply a reflection of the low sampling intensity in some Districts, the areas selected for sampling, if moose browse is less common due the presence of other desirable tree species, or some other factors (e.g. moose densities). In 2013, resources permitting, work in high-value silvicultural areas will be continued with emphasis on conducting assessments in areas with low sample sizes or no sampling to date.

Figure 30. Map with BWA damage ratings determined from assessments of balsam fir at locations sampled during high-value surveys on island in 2011 and 2012.

Figure 31. Map showing locations and percentage of trees with moose browse at locations assessed as part of high-value surveys on island in 2011 and 2012.

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Research

In 2012, the Department continued to participate in research projects through SERG – I. SERG-I brings together forest pest managers, regulators, research agencies, pesticide suppliers, and others interested in forest pest management with the goal of improving application technology, pest management methods, and pest control products used in integrated pest management. It facilitates the efficient use of resources for collaborative research to help meet the needs and priorities of pest managers. It also provides a means for members to work cooperatively on research projects through the sharing of expertise, and financial and in-kind resources to achieve common goals in the areas of spray efficacy and integrated pest management. A number of projects (Table 11) of interest to the Province were funded through SERG-I with financial administration provided by Forest Protection Limited (FPL) in New Brunswick for 10 of the 11 projects; and the University of New Brunswick providing financial administration for the remaining project.

Table 11. Research projects partially funded through the Spray Efficacy Research Group – International in 2012. Research

Project NL Funding Provided

Financial Adminstration

Dispersion Climatology for Aerial Application of Pesticides over Canadian Forests. $1000 FPL Efficacy of semiochemical-based methods of suppressing populations of the brown spruce longhorned beetle (BSLB), Tetropium fuscum (F.).

$1000 FPL

Developing and testing of user-friendly spray formulations for the application of semio-chemicals to control forest insect pests.

$1500 FPL

Identification of the balsam fir sawfly pheromone for population monitoring and field testing. $1500 FPL Response of the boreal forest to eastern spruce budworm outbreaks under a changing climate.

$1500 FPL

Comparative olfactory physiology of invasive North American Tetropium fuscum (F.) with native European T. fuscum and T. castaneum (L.).

$1000 FPL

Assessing the effect of endophytic fungi as biological control agents for spruce budworm and white pine blister rust.

$1000 FPL

Dynamics of spruce budworm populations in rising Outbreaks, Year 2 and 4. $3000 FPL Full-Physics Atmospheric Modeling of Drop Release, Transport and Deposition. $1000 FPL Comparisons of Btk aerial spraying strategies against the eastern spruce budworm, based on protection timing and intensity during a complete outbreak episode.

$2500 FPL

Managing Hemlock Looper in a changing Environment $48000 UNB TOTAL $63000

Given the historical impact of hemlock looper on the forests of NL, the most significant research contribution has been towards a research project being conducted by Dr. Lucie Royer of the Canadian Forest Service. This is a five-year project to determine and evaluate the major ecological factors affecting the population dynamics of HL with the overall purpose of providing critical information required to predict HL phenologies and population densities in a changing environment. This information will be extremely valuable in trying to manage and mitigate the impacts from this major forest pest in the future. Abstracts summarizing the results of 10 of these projects are provided in Appendix E. Given the importance and funding provided to the hemlock looper project, a full progress report of work conducted in year three is also provided in Appendix E.

In addition, the department continues to contribute to forest pest research and forest pest management through its involvement with the National Forest Pest Strategy (NFPS), in particular it’s involvement with the NFPS Steering Committee, NFPS Working Group and assistance with other NFPS projects (i.e. reports, workshops, provision of data).

Identifying research priorities and participating in research initiatives continues to be an important component in providing the information and tools needed to protect our forests using an integrated forest pest management approach.

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Figure 32. Cover page of IDMC operating procedures manual.

Other Special Trials / Initiatives in 2012

In various sections of this report reference has been given to special trials conducted in 2012. These trials were conducted to improve our understanding as it relates to the techniques and surveys used to assess seasonal phenology and monitor and assess forest pest populations.

They included:

a) a trial to examine the location and frequency of hemlock looper eggs on branch samples and the impact on forecasts using a standardized branch size versus a whole branch;

b) a comparison of spruce budworm moth catches to predictions of flight period using BioSIM and associated degree-days;

c) a comparison of spruce budworm moth catches using Multipher I versus Unitrap non-saturating trap designs; and

d) a comparison of spruce budworm egg mass forecasts between early and later season sampling.

Additional information and results from these trials are provided in Appendix A, B, C, and D.

Beyond these special trials, several other important initiatives were conducted through carried out in 2012 and 2013. The first involved the creation of an Insect and Disease Control Operations Manual which describes the work conducted by the IDMC. The manual describes not only what is done and how and when, but indicates how this information is used. It consolidates the procedures, standard operating practices (SOP’s), and applicable legislation currently related to the roles and responsibilities of the IDMC in the delivery of its mandate in one document. Despite formation of the IDMC in 1978, there have been no previous attempts to gather this information together in one document. With changes in staff related to recent and expected retirements, it was considered to be prudent and timely to compile the current requirements and procedures of the IDMC into one document for both archival reasons and to provide new staff with the necessary information on how the Section conducts its business. As indicated this document also identifies Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) and SOP’s related to environmental protection connected to the insect and disease program. The latter is to be incorporated into the environmental management system (EMS) currently being adopted and used within the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). At the time of this reporting, this operations manual is nearing completion (Figure 32).

The second contract involves the transfer of new technology used to help predict impacts from major forest pests. The IDMC essentially uses a three-step approach in managing forest pests which involves: 1) monitoring and forecasting forest pest populations; 2) evaluating impacts; and 3) evaluating control options and conducting controls. This contract will improve the Departments ability to evaluate impacts under different control options. In the past, forecast survey results were combined with forest inventory data to identify susceptible forest areas where moderate to severe defoliation was expected. Given the tight wood supply and high demand for wood in the Province to support the forest industry, areas forecasted to have moderate to severe defoliation were considered for treatment to mitigate impacts.

Moving forward, newly acquired Decision Support System (DSS) tools like ForPRO® by FORUS Research will be used in combination with forest inventory, forecast, and aerial defoliation data to quantify impacts on forest management objectives resulting from outbreaks

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Figure 33. Integration of pest forecast data with ForPRO DSS software to estimate impacts.

of major forest pests. This information can be fully integrated with forest estate planning software (REMSOFT) currently being used by the DNR Forestry Services Branch.

Once an outbreak is underway and an initial forecast is determined, impacts must be assessed. These impacts are directly related to the feeding behaviour of each insect species and relationships have been developed between cumulative defoliation and growth loss and mortality. For example, HL larvae are wasteful feeders, rarely consuming entire needles - partially damaged needles still die and turn red with high populations of HL capable of causing tree mortality in a single year. Conversely, feeding damage caused by moderate to severe populations of SBW usually take 3-5 years to cause tree mortality.

Currently forecast polygons were overlaid on forest inventory data using modified stand type criteria which identify stands with susceptible host-tree species. Identified during this process are any specific high-value areas (e.g. pre-commercial thinnings) that would be of greater concern if impacted by the pest.

Using ForPRO® evaluation of stand and forest level impacts is conducted using forecasted population levels and expected defoliation levels in combination with information on the species composition, volumes and growth rates of different forest stands, and the effects of cumulative defoliation on tree growth and mortality (i.e. look-up tables of stand impacts) – Figure 33. The consequences or impacts associated with not controlling the pest or engaging in different protection scenarios (i.e. salvage only, salvage and aerial control) on forest management objectives can be determined. Beyond having the ability to quantify the impacts of defoliation under different protection scenarios, the DSS will also be used to prioritize stands for protection based on an estimate of the volume saved and products generated. This information is extremely important when trying to maximize the benefit of protection when funding becomes limited.

The DSS can also be used strategically (i.e. before an outbreak of a particular pest occurs) to identify what impacts would occur within a particular area if a major pest outbreak was to occur and how to best mitigate the outbreak to minimize impacts. Overall, the use of this new technology will allow for more informed decision making as it relates to quantifying the impacts or consequences of various actions.

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References

Clarke, L., 1990. Forest Insect and Disease Survey Work Outline Field Season 1990. Forestry Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador Region. Page 28. Hébert, C., 2008. Outbreak history, impact and monitoring of the hemlock looper. Pest forum presentation. Dec. 2, 2008. Hartling, L. et al., 1991. Hemlock Looper in New Brunswick Notes on Biology and Survey Methods. New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources – Forest Pest Management Section, in-house report, pp. 25. LaFlamme, G. 2012. Personal communications. Canadian Forest Service – Laurentian Forestry Centre. Lavigne, D. 2008. New Brunswick Regional Forest Pest Detection Program. New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources – Forest Pest Management Section, in-house report, pp. 40. Lavigne, D., 2005. Balsam Woolly Adelgid Work conducted by the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources in NewBrunswick – 2002 to 2004, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources – Forest Pest Management Section, in-house report, pp. 23.

Lavigne, D., 2011. Forest Insect & Disease Control and Monitoring Activities in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 and Outlook for 2012. Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources, Forest Engineering

and Industry Services Division report – pp. 53. ISBN: 978-1-55146-482-4. Neville, R., 2012. Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (Tetropium fuscum) Survey Results. Canadian Food Inspection Agency – Halifax. Presentation to AACIFP, January 2012. Régnière et al., 2008. BioSIM: A computer-based decision support tool for seasonal planning of pest management activities. USER’S MANUAL – BioSIM v. 9.0. Natural Resources Canada, Information Report LAU-X-116. Régnière, J., 2012. Personal communications. Canadian Forest Service – Laurentian Forestry Centre. Roberts, B. A., 1985. Distribution and extent of Pinus resinosa Ait in Newfoundland. Rhodora, Vol. 87: p. 341-356. Schooley, H.O. and The Balsam Woolly Aphid in Newfoundland. Environment Canada. Forestry Service D. G. Bryant, 1978. ISSN 0704-7657: 27-30. Therrien, P., 2012. Tordeuse des bourgeions de l’epinette – Défoliation annuelle 2012. Quebec, Ressources naturelles et

Faune. Warren, G., 2012. Personal communications. Canadian Forest Service – Corner Brook, NL.

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APPENDICES

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Appendix A – Trial to examine distribution and number of hemlock looper eggs on branch samples and comparison of forecast results using a standardized branch size versus whole branch

Sampling of branch samples to forecast hemlock looper populations has been conducted in the Province of NL for many years. Sampling was initially conducted by the Forest Insect and Disease Section (FIDS) of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS). Instructions provided to FIDS rangers indicated that whole branches were to be collected and subsequently processed in a lab using a washing method to dislodge and extract the eggs from branches (Clarke, 1990). The use of a whole branch was thought to be the sampling unit necessary given the egg laying behaviour of the insect with groups of one to three eggs laid in various locations such as the forest floor, the stems of trees, under lichens, and tree branches. Whole branches were considered to have more suitable egg laying sites given the presence of lichen and old mans beard further back on the branch. As part of the sampling process, preference was also given to sampling older branches with this type of material. The total number of healthy eggs found on three whole branches at a location was then correlated to subsequent defoliation to provide thresholds of predicted defoliation. These same methods and thresholds were adopted by DNR’s IDMC in 1978 when it provided additional support to insect and disease monitoring and control activities in the Province. With the demise of CFS’s FIDS in 1996, DNR’s IDMC assumed full responsibility for the above. No work has been done during this time period to examine alternate methods for sampling/forecasting HL populations.

While the current sampling method and associated thresholds have worked well in NL, it does require the sampling and processing of large branches of varying size. Other jurisdictions in eastern Canada also use a branch sampling method for forecasting HL populations, however, all have adopted a standardized branch length. One hundred centimetre mid to lower crown branch tips are used in both New Brunswick (Hartling et al., 1991) and Quebec (Hébert, 2008).

In 2011, a trial was conducted to examine the number of eggs found on different portions of branches collected as part of the HL egg survey. In addition, a rinsing procedure not previously employed as part of the wash method was added to see if any additional eggs could be removed. A small test was also conducted to compare the percentage of eggs recovered from branches using a 2% solution of Javex in 20 litres of water (volume for conventional method) versus one using a 2% solution of Javex in 10 litres. Results of this trial and the associated tests are reported in Lavigne (2011). Although the results were encouraging - given the collapse in HL populations across the island in 2011 and the low number of HL eggs found, it was felt that it would be wise to repeat this trial with higher numbers of eggs.

In 2012, two sets of samples were collected for the trial. One set included branch samples taken from trees at 53 forecast locations on NTS map sheets 23, 127 and 141. Samples were collected from these maps given the aerial defoliation and higher HL pheromone trap catches observed. A total of 159 whole branch samples were taken to determine the number of egg founds on the 100 cm branch tip and on the portion greater than 100cm. Another set of branch samples was taken from four plots with egg counts in the moderate to severe range. At each plot 50 to 60 whole branch samples were collected for a total of 190 branches. For this set the branches were rated 1 to 4 (1 – good HL branch; 2 – fair HL branch; 3 – poor HL branch; 4 – very poor/clean branch) based on their perceived suitability (i.e. presence of lichen etc.) for HL egg laying. These branches were also further subdivided to determine the number of HL eggs on the 50 cm branch tip, 51-100cm portion, and the portion of the branch greater than 100cm.

Similar to the trial conducted in 2011, different portions of the branch were washed separately using the conventional method which involves soaking the branch in a 2% solution of Javex for 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, dipping and discarding the branch, putting the remaining solution through two sieves to separate larger materials (20 mesh - 850 um) from finer materials including the capture of HL eggs in the bottom sieve (40 mesh - 425 um), and counting the number of eggs under a dissecting microscope. The number of eggs found on each portion was recorded. Instead of discarding the branch, however, each portion of the branch was also rinsed as a separate process by placing the branch in the top sieve and rinsing with water. Materials collected on the bottom sieve were then examined to determine if any additional eggs were found.

The number of eggs found for each portion of the branch using the normal wash method and number of eggs found after rinsing on each portion of the branch was used to determine the total number of HL eggs. The percentages of eggs found on different portions of the branch could then be calculated for each set of branches. In addition, these numbers could also be used to determine if there was a difference in the number of HL eggs found on branches with different suitability ratings. Of greater interest was a comparison of the forecast results obtained using the conventional whole branch method versus forecasts obtained using the 100 cm branch tip with rinsing. The latter is the standard branch size and wash method used in New Brunswick and Quebec.

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Comparison of egg counts on branches with different suitability ratings: The average number of HL eggs found on branches with different suitability ratings and their median values were compared using parametric (ANOVA - analysis of variance; Fisher’s LSD multiple range test) and non-parametric (Kruskal-Wallis) tests for data from each plot, as well as, the pooled results. Summary statistics and results for the above tests are summarized in the following table.

1 1 – Good; 2 – Fair; 3 – Poor; 4 – Very Poor/Clean

Summary statistics are based on the actual value of HL eggs found; however, the tests (ANOVA, Fisher’s LSD, Kruskal-Wallis) for differences between the means and median values were done using data transformed by a square root function given non-normality in the original data. The use of parametric tests assumes the data is from a normal sample distribution. Transformation of the data is conducted to normalize the data so that parametric tests can be conducted. All tests were done to look for statistical differences at the 95% confidence level.

From the outset, based on information provided on egg laying behaviour of HL over the years, there was an expectation that the branches rated as good for HL would yield the highest number of eggs. Test results, however, did not bear this out. When the mean and median numbers of eggs found for each suitability rating were compared within each plot, no differences between good, fair or poor branches were found. There was also an expectation that no eggs would be found on clean branches or branches rated very poor for HL sampling. Here the test results were mixed as in one plot (23060), the clean branches had a higher mean and median than found on branches rated good and fair. The reverse was true in another plot (127037) where the mean and median number of eggs was higher on branches rated good, fair, and poor.

Plot

Suitability

Ratings 1

n

Mean

Median

ANOVA Fisher’s LSD

Multiple Range Kruskal

Wallis - Ranks 23060 1 23 2.0 1.0

Source Sum of Squares

Df

Mean Square

F-Ratio

P-Value

X 24.8

2 23 2.0 2.0 Bet. group 10.3025 3 3.43415 3.41 0.0237 X 29.6 3 4 3.3 2.5 With. group 56.4747 56 1.00848 XX 34.5 4 10 5.3 4.0 Total (Corr) 66.7772 59 X

1=2 1=3 1<4 2=3 2<4 3=4 44.1

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between some of the means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value = 0.02686 Statistical difference

23039 1 21 1.9 0 Bet. group 4.98911 2 2.49455 1.95 0.1538 X 21.1

2 12 3.6 3.5 With. group 60.1584 47 1.27997 X 28.1 3 17 3.4 3.0 Total (Corr) 65.1475 49 X

1=2 1=3 2=3

29.1 P-value of F-test greater than 0.05 indicates nostatistical

difference between means P-value=0.167372

No statistical diff.

127008 1 18 2.6 2.0 Bet. group 0.05711 2 0.02856 0.03 0.9725 X 13.1

2 6 1.8 1.0 With. group 22.5034 22 1.02288 X 12.5 3 1 2.0 2.0 Total (Corr) 22.5605 24 X

1=2 1=3 2=3

15.0 P-value of F-test greater than 0.05 indicates no statistical

difference between means P-value=0.947942

No statistical diff.

127037 1 10 11.2 11.5 Bet. group 19.8351 3 6.61172 8.45 0.0001 X 31.7

2 19 11.4 11.0 With. group 39.9051 51 0.78245 X 31.6 3 21 10.7 8.0 Total (Corr) 59.7403 54 X 28.6 4 5 1.8 1.0 X

1=2 1=3 1>4 2=3 2>4 3>4

4.6

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between some of the means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value = 0.00667468 Statistical difference

Pooled 1 72 3.4 2.0 Bet. group 28.1851 3 9.39504 5.61 0.0011 X 77.7

2 60 5.3 3.5 With. group 311.419 186 1.6743 X 100.1 3 43 6.9 5.0 Total (Corr) 339.604 189 X 118.5 4 15 4.1 2.0 XX

1<2 1<3 1=4 2=3 2=4 3=4

96.9

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between some of the means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value = 0.00120599 Statistical difference

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When the results from all plots were pooled together, interestingly the means and medians found on branches rated as fair and poor were higher than those rated as good. Conversely, the branches rated as very poor or clean had mean and medians that were not significantly different than any other group. In fact the HL appears to lay eggs on branches independent of their perceived suitability. This suggests that there is no need for preferential sampling of branches in the future. It also suggests that no sampling bias (i.e. greater number of eggs found) occurred in previous forecast surveys as a result of taking branches thought to be more suitable. Location of HL eggs on different portions of branch: Once again, based on information provided on egg laying behaviour of HL in the past, there was an expectation that a greater proportion of eggs would be found on the older or back portions of the branch, hence the need for sampling of whole branches. To assess if this was indeed the case, different branch portions were washed separately using both the normal procedure and one which incorporated a rinse. The latter was done to determine the number of additional eggs found on each branch portion as a result of rinsing. Results showing the number and percentage of eggs found based on the proportion of total eggs on each branch portion was summarized by plot or pooled results in the table below.

Sample Set

Plot

1 to

50cm

1 to 50cm (rinse)

1 to 50cm (total)

51 to

100cm

51 to 100cm (rinse)

51 to 100cm (total)

100cm

100cm (rinse)

100cm (total)

>100cm

>100cm (rinse)

>100cm (total)

Total Eggs

n=159 Pooled - - - - - - 201 (64.6%)

22 (7.1%)

223 (71.7%)

75 (24.1%)

13 (4.2%)

88 (28.3%)

311

23060 54

(34.0%) 10

(6.3%) 64

(40.3%) 41

(25.8%) 9

(5.7%) 50

(31.4%) 95

(59.8%) 19

(11.9%) 114

(71.7%) 34

(21.4%) 11

(6.9%) 45

(28.3%) 159

23039 52 (37.2%)

11 (7.9%)

63 (45.1%)

38 (27.1%)

10 (7.1%)

48 (34.2%)

90 (64.3%)

21 (15.0%)

111 (79.3%)

21 (15.0%)

8 (5.7%)

29 (20.7%)

140

127008 8 (13.3%)

4 (6.7%)

12 (20.0%)

14 (23.3%)

8 (13.3%)

22 (36.6%)

22 (36.6%)

12 (20.0%)

34 (56.6%)

13 (21.7%)

13 (21.7%)

26 (43.4%)

60

127037 125 (22.3%)

62 (11.0%)

187 (33.3%)

102 (18.2%)

62 (11.0%)

164 (29.2%)

227 (40.4%)

124 (22.1%)

351 (62.5%)

155 (27.5%)

56 (10.0%)

211 (37.5%)

562

n=190

Pooled 239 (26.0%)

87 (9.4%)

326 (35.4%)

195 (21.2%)

89 (9.7%)

284 (30.8%)

434 (47.1%)

176 (19.1%)

610 (66.2%)

223 (24.2%)

88 (9.6%)

311 (33.8%)

921

All plots and branches pooled

- - - - - - 635 (51.5%)

198 (16.1%)

833 (67.6%)

298 (24.2%)

101 (8.2%)

399 (32.4%)

1232

Plot and pooled results found that 20 to 45% of the eggs were found on the 50cm branch tip; 31 to 37% were found on the 51 to 100cm branch portion, and 21 to 43% were found on the portion of the branch greater than 100cm. When broken down to include only the 100cm branch tip and remaining portion of the branch - 63 to 79% of the eggs were found on the 100 cm branch tip and 21 to 43% were found on the back portion of the branch. Pooling all results, 68% or 2/3’s of the eggs were found on the 100 cm branch tip and only 1/3 or 32% of the eggs were found on the remainder of the branch. This was a complete reversal from the results expected.

Beyond other jurisdictions merely correlating defoliation with a different branch sampling unit, this does help to explain why they’ve selected a 100 cm branch tip as a standardized branch size for forecasting HL populations. Comparison of forecast using rinsed 100 cm branch tip versus conventional whole branch (no rinse): The next important step was to compare the forecasts made using egg counts from the 100 cm branch tip with rinsing versus those made using the conventional whole branch (no rinse). To make this comparison, cross tabulations were conducted to examine where forecast ratings were the same and where they differed. The same forecast thresholds used by NL were used in this analysis, the only difference being the moderate forecast level was divided into two categories – a low and high moderate forecast.

A cross tabulation analysis was conducted for each of the following groups: i) sample data set one (n=159 trees), ii) sample data set two (n=190 trees), iii) combination of the two data sets (n=349 trees), iv) plot 127037 only (where it had the highest egg counts), and v) a data set where three tree totals were used from the two data sets.

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i) through iv) used the forecast ranges/thresholds to compare the number of eggs found on each 100 cm branch tip with rinsing to those found using the whole branch without rinsing. In contrast v) used the same forecast ranges/thresholds to compare the total number of egg found on three 100 cm branch tips with rinsing versus the total found on three whole branches without rinsing. The latter corresponds more with how HL populations are typically forecasted using the total egg count for 3 trees.

Results from the cross tabulation analyses found that 60 to 85% of the time forecast results were the same. Twelve to 25% of the time forecast results using whole branches without rinsing were higher; however, most of the difference (11.2 to 12.1%) occurred in the nil to

Forecast – Conventional Whole Branch (no rinse) Sample Set (n=159) Forecast – 100cm branch tip

with rinse 0 Trace (1-2) Light (3-9) Low Moderate

(10-19) High Moderate

(20-39) Severe (30+)

Totals 0 94 (59.2%) 10 (6.3%) 3 (1.9%) 0 0 0 107 (67.3%)

Trace (1-2) 2 (1.3%) 21 (13.2%) 5 (3.1%) 0 0 0 28 (17.6%) Light (3-9) 0 1 (0.6%) 15 (9.4%) 0 0 0 16 (10.1%)

Low Moderate (10-19) 0 0 0 5 (3.1%) 2 (1.3%) 0 7 (4.4%) High Moderate (20-29) 0 0 0 0 1 (0.6%) 0 1 (0.6%)

Severe (30+) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 96 (60.4%) 32 (20.1%) 23 (14.5%) 5 (3.1%) 3 (1.9%) 0 159 (100%)

Forecast – Conventional Whole Branch (no rinse) Sample Set (n=190) Forecast – 100cm branch tip

with rinse 0 Trace (1-2) Light (3-9) Low Moderate

(10-19) High Moderate

(20-39) Severe (30+)

Totals 0 52 (27.4%) 9 (4.7%) 4 (2.1%) 0 0 0 65 (34.2%)

Trace (1-2) 3 (1.6%) 29 (15.3%) 10 (5.3%) 0 0 0 42 (22.1%) Light (3-9) 0 6 (3.2%) 49 (25.8%) 9 (4.7%) 0 0 64 (33.7%)

Low Moderate (10-19) 0 0 8 (4.2%) 11 (5.8%) 0 0 19 (10.0%) High Moderate (20-29) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Severe (30+) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 55 (29.0%) 44 (23.2%) 71 (37.4%) 20 (10.5%) 0 0 190 (100%)

Forecast – Conventional Whole Branch (no rinse) Combined (n=349) Forecast – 100cm branch tip

with rinse 0 Trace (1-2) Light (3-9) Low Moderate

(10-19) High Moderate

(20-39) Severe (30+)

Totals 0 146 (41.8%) 19 (5.4%) 7 (2.0%) 0 0 0 172 (49.3%)

Trace (1-2) 5 (1.4%) 50 (14.3%) 15 (4.3%) 0 0 0 70 (20.0%) Light (3-9) 0 7 (2.0%) 64 (18.3%) 9 (2.6%) 0 0 80 (22.9%)

Low Moderate (10-19) 0 0 8 (2.3%) 16 (4.6%) 2 (0.6%) 0 26 (7.5%) High Moderate (20-29) 0 0 0 0 1 (0.3%) 0 1 (0.3%)

Severe (30+) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 151 (43.3%) 76 (21.8%) 94 (26.9%) 25 (7.2%) 3 (0.9%) 0 349 (100%)

Forecast – Conventional Whole Branch (no rinse) Sample Set (Plot 127037) Forecast – 100cm branch tip

with rinse 0 Trace (1-2) Light (3-9) Low Moderate

(10-19) High Moderate

(20-39) Severe (30+)

Totals 0 2 (3.5%) 2 (3.5%) 1 (1.7%) 0 0 0 5 (8.7%)

Trace (1-2) 0 1 (1.7%) 4 (6.9%) 0 0 0 5 (8.6%) Light (3-9) 0 1 (1.7%) 23 (39.7%) 8 (13.8%) 0 0 32 (55.2%)

Low Moderate (10-19) 0 0 6 (10.3%) 8 (13.8%) 1 (1.7%) 0 15 (25.8%) High Moderate (20-29) 0 0 0 0 1 (1.7%) 0 1 (1.7%)

Severe (30+) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 2 (3.5%) 4 (6.9%) 34 (58.6%) 16 (27.6%) 2 (3.4%) 0 58 (100%)

Forecast – Conventional Whole Branch (no rinse) Combined (Total 3 trees) Forecast – 100cm branch tip

with rinse 0 Trace (1-2) Light (3-9) Low Moderate

(10-19) High Moderate

(20-39) Severe (30+)

Totals 0 20 (18.7%) 5 (4.7%) 1 (0.9%) 0 0 0 26 (24.3%)

Trace (1-2) 1 (0.9%) 12 (11.2%) 6 (5.6%) 0 0 0 19 (17.8%) Light (3-9) 0 3 (2.8%) 25 (23.4%) 2 (1.9%) 0 0 30 (28.0%)

Low Moderate (10-19) 0 0 1 (0.9%) 14 (13.1%) 3 (2.8%) 1 (0.9%) 19 (17.8%) High Moderate (20-29) 0 0 0 3 (2.8%) 5 (4.7%) 1 (0.9%) 9 (8.4%)

Severe (30+) 0 0 0 0 1 (0.9%) 3 (2.8%) 4 (3.7%) Totals 21 (19.6%) 20 (18.7%) 33 (30.8%) 19 (17.8%) 9 (8.4%) 5 (4.6%) 107 (100%)

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light categories. In contrast, forecast results using the 100 cm tip with rinsing were higher 1.9 to 12.0% of the time. Obviously of greatest interest were differences between light and moderate forecast levels as this defines when protection is considered. Here 1.9 to 13.8% of the time, a 100 cm branch tip with rinsing gave a forecast of light and the whole branch without rinsing gave a low moderate forecast. Of interest, however, was that the reverse was true almost as many times – 2.3 to 10.3% of the time the 100 cm branch tip with rinsing gave a low moderate forecast while the whole branch without rinsing gave a light forecast.

Overall, there was high level of agreement between forecasts generated using a 100 cm branch tip with rinsing versus forecasts generated using conventional whole branches (no rinse). This was also evident based on the results of a regression analysis comparing the two branch sampling units. The regression was almost a 1 to 1 relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.952 indicating a strong relationship between the variables with 90% of the variability found in total egg counts with whole branches (no rinsing) explained by the fitted model.

The results of this trial suggest that forecast results can be generated using a 100 cm branch tip with rinsing and that there is little to be gained in sampling whole branches. For the 349 branches processed in this study alone, sampling whole branches resulted in the processing of an additional 13498 cm or 135 m of foliage - an average of 39 cm/branch. In years when a forecast survey includes 1000 locations and 3 trees per location, using the same average would equate to the processing of an another 117000 cm or 1170 m of foliage when whole branches are used. Sampling a standardized 100 cm branch tip would have advantages in the field with respect to cutting (i.e. branches not as thick) and bagging the branches (i.e. less branch to bag).

Advantages would also be gained in the lab by using smaller branches as it lends itself to the use of smaller buckets for processing of samples. An egg extraction trial conducted by IDMC staff in 2011 (Lavigne, 2011) comparing the number of eggs extracted from branches processed in 25 (20 litres with 2% javex) versus 15 (10 litres with 2% javex) litre pails found no difference in the number of eggs extracted. A 25 litre pail with 20 litres of solution weighs approximately 22 kg or 44 lbs. Although duties within the lab are rotated, lifting these pails of solution is physically demanding and must be done with care to avoid injury. Processing a smaller standardized 100 cm branch in a smaller pail with 10 litres of solution will reduce the weight of the pails being handled by approximately half, thereby reducing the physical demands and risk of injury, without compromising forecast results.

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Appendix B – Additional information on spruce budworm pheromone trapping work and results in Labrador

This section provides an overview of SBW pheromone trapping work conducted in the Goose Bay area in Labrador in 2012. Trapping was conducted at eight locations (see table below). The original purpose for trapping in this area was to assess pheromone trap catches within an area were SBW populations were declining based on lower observed defoliation in 2011 and forecasted populations predicted to be predominantly low in 2012. The overall goal was to try to determine trap catch thresholds associated with low, but measurable egg mass densities. Knowing this threshold will help pest managers to determine when forecasting using branch sampling techniques is really necessary. As indicated in the report, SBW populations had a surprising resurgence in 2012. This provided an opportunity to observe trap catches associated with different defoliation levels (see table below). A gradient of approximately 400 moths per trap for light defoliation to a high of 1225 moth per traps where M-S defoliation was observed was recorded. Branch sampling during the fall forecast survey at these same locations also found 0 to 41 SBW egg masses/10 sq m of foliage. Although an issue was identified with the time of year when SBW forecast surveys are conducted (see Appendix D), it does suggest that egg masses may still be difficult to find when average trap catches are below 700 moths/trap. This needs to be explored further in 2013 by collecting and assessing branch samples for egg masses earlier in the season (late August – early September) and comparing these forecast results to trapping results obtained during the summer.

PlotID

Latitude

(dd.ddddd)

Longitude

(-dd.ddddd)

Elevation

(m)

Ground observation of stand defoliation

Average number of moths/trap

Late Fall egg mass

densities/10 sq m 312015 53.060980 -60.507000 305 Light 408 0 313013 53.160660 -60.458540 115 Light 410 0 288009 53.337040 -60.199680 5 Light 688 0 288005 53.284040 -60.355800 5 Light-Moderate 728 41 313015 53.037900 -60.453660 340 Light 731 0 287005 53.280750 -60.620670 75 NA 833 NA 264002 53.384250 -60.425260 65 Light-Moderate 867 0 288008 53.277350 -60.491700 5 Moderate - Severe 1225 29

With the assistance of District 19a staff, it was also possible to conduct weekly assessments of trap catches during the adult flight period. This information was compared (see graphs next page) to the predictions of adult moths as determined using the SBW seasonal phenology model in BioSIM. This software tool uses phenology models in combination with historical and / or real-time weather, and five-day forecast information to predict biological events (Régnière, 2008). In this case, BioSIM was used to predict the proportion of SBW in the adult or moth stage over time. Estimates of accumulated degree-days over the predicted and observed adult moth periods were also made for each pheromone trapping location with temperature information corrected by BioSIM for differences in latitude and elevation between the trapping location and weather station (Goose Bay Airport).

A comparison of peak trap catch and peak predicted moths using BioSIM in all cases showed peak trap catches were later then predicted dates. For all but one plot (313013), predicted peak date were 8 to 12 days sooner than observed peaks in traps. In plot 313013, although still earlier the difference was only 4 days. It should be noted, however, that some of the differences observed between predicted and observed dates may have been smaller had trap catches been assessed more frequently (i.e. more than once a week). Where predicted dates were earlier in all cases, however, it does suggest the SBW model in BioSIM is predicting peak moth activity earlier than observed.

Comparing accumulated degrees days (base 3ºC) to observed trap catches indicates that traps should be placed before an accumulation of 600 degree-days is reached. Conversely, the adult flight period was complete (i.e. no more trap catches) by the time 1200 degree-days was reached. This comparison of trap catches and degree-day information will continue to be refined over time and can be used in the future to ensure that traps are properly placed and collected before and after the SBW adult flight period. This information can also be used to improve the seasonal phenology models in use.

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Appendix C - Comparison of spruce budworm moth catches using Multipher I versus Unitrap non-saturating trap designs

Sampling of low density spruce budworm (SBW) populations using pheromone traps has been conducted by the IDMC on the island of Newfoundland since 2000. Given the increases noted in SBW populations in Quebec and other jurisdictions in Atlantic Canada, the pheromone trapping network on the island was doubled in 2012. Unfortunately in recent years there has been difficulty in trying to obtain an adequate supply of Multipher I non-saturating traps – this is the trap design used for SBW pheromone trapping. Given these difficulties and the fact that Unitrap’s (another non-saturating trap design) are readily available, a decision was made to purchase Unitrap’s and use them as part of an expanded SBW pheromone trapping network on the island in 2012.

As with any pheromone trapping program, consistency is very important as it relates to assessing the same trapping locations, using the same pheromone lure (i.e. same concentration and release rate), and employing the same trap design. These are all necessary to ensure that any differences in pheromone trap catches observed from year to year are reflective of population changes only, and not related other factors like the above. For this reason a comparison was conducted in 2012 to determine if there was a difference between the numbers of moths caught in Multipher I traps versus Unitrap’s.

A total of 67 pheromone trapping locations were randomly chosen – at each location one Multipher I and one Unitrap were placed, each containing a 330ug SBW flex lure from Contech Enterprises Inc. and a Vaportape killing strip. Within each location traps were also randomly placed with one trap at the plot centre and the second trap placed approximately 30 m away. Multiple and paired sample comparisons were conducted to test the hypothesis that the means or medians were equal at the 95% confidence level. Once again non-normality in the data required the data to be transformed using a LOG transformation before the tests could be conducted; however, the means and medians provided are based on the actual moth catches. Results for these statistical results and tests are shown in the table below.

Surprisingly, the statistical results and tests indicated that the Multipher I traps caught more moths than the Unitrap. One potential explanation for this may be related to the presence of residual pheromone that can be absorbed in the plastic of traps. The Multipher I traps have been use now for more than 10 seasons, while the Unitrap’s were used for the first time in 2012. Beyond the pheromone being released from the pheromones lures, residual pheromone in the plastic of the Multipher I traps may have increased the amount of pheromone in the air around these traps resulting in the attraction and subsequent trapping of more moths.

Given the above, regression analyses were conducted to relate the differences observed in trap catches. A regression obtained with average moths/trap from Multipher I traps as the dependent variable indicated a strong correlation (0.936) with Unitrap moth catches with the fitted model explaining 87.5% of the variability in the Multipher I moth catches. Conversely a regression obtained with average moths/trap with Unitrap’s as the dependant variable also gave a strong correlation (0.871) with Multipher I catches with the fitted model explaining 75.6% of the variability in the Unitrap catches. The fitted models can be used to estimate the average number of moths/trap based on the average number of moths/trap found in the other trap design. Given the availability of the Unitrap, the current plan is to switch to this trap design for SBW pheromone trapping in the future. At this time, however, it’s unclear if the same difference in moth catches will occur in another year. Specifically, after pheromone lures have been placed in Unitrap’s for one field season, will residual pheromone be absorbed in the plastic of

Trap Design

n

Mean

Median

ANOVA

Fisher’s LSD Multiple Range

Kruskal Wallis - Ranks

Multiple Comparisons Source

Sum of Squares

Df

Mean Square

F-Ratio

P-Value

Multipher 1 67 54.1 37.0 Bet. group 6.37967 1 6.37967 7.19 0.0083 77.3881 Unitrap 67 29.1 18.5 With. group 117.128 132 0.88734 57.6119

Total (Corr) 123.508 133

X X

Mean of

Multipher I > mean of

Unitrap

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between the means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value = 0.003187 Statistical difference

Paired Sample Comparisons - Means Computed t statistic P-value

t-test Ho: mean Multipher – mean Unitrap = 0 5.19494 0.00000214617

P-value of less than 0.05 - reject Ho - means are statistically different at 95% confidence level

Paired Sample Comparisons - Medians Large sample test statistic P-value

Sign test Ho: median Multipher – median Unitrap = 0 4.21718 0.0000247533

P-value of less than 0.05 - reject Ho - medians are statistically different at 95% confidence level

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these traps? If so, would the increase in moth catches in the Unitrap’s result in no difference in trap catches between the two trap designs?

To test if there is really a difference in moth catches between the two trap designs requires additional testing. Ideally this would involve the use of new traps of both designs to eliminate the problem of residual pheromone. Although less ideal, another year of testing could also be done to see if having pheromone lures in the Unitrap’s for at least one season eliminated any differences in moth catches between Unitrap and Multipher I traps. If after additional testing, differences in moth catches still exist, the regression models above or one’s similar to them could potentially be used to correct pheromone trap catches so that between year comparisons of trap catches can still be done despite the use of different trap designs in different years.

Once again, the comparative work conducted above highlights the need for keeping as many variables as consistent as possible from one year to the next when conducting pheromone trapping. When changes in lure formulations or trap design are required it’s important that these comparisons are conducted.

Given the differences observed between moth catches in Multipher I versus Unitrap’s, the switch to Unitrap’s in 2013 currently appears to require a new baseline year. If after further testing differences in trap catches between these two designs are still apparent, relationships like the regressions above will be needed to correct trap catches between years.

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Appendix D - Comparison of spruce budworm egg mass forecasts between early and late season sampling

The resurgence of SBW populations and damage in the Goose Bay area in 2012, particularly in areas where population/damage levels were expected to be light raised questions about the forecast results being generated for SBW. The appearance was that some areas were being under forecasted. One possible reason for this is the timing of when the SBW forecast survey is conducted. Typically SBW moth flight ends in mid to late August. By this time adult moths have mated and female moths have laid their compliment of eggs. Typically this is the ideal time for collecting branch samples and assessing them for the presence of new or newly hatched egg masses. During the last SBW outbreak, egg mass forecast sampling was done in early September. With the collapse in SBW populations and a greater need for forecasting HL populations, sampling for SBW was combined with HL sampling due primarily to sampling costs associated with the use of helicopters. Given the later phenology of HL, this meant that SBW forecast sampling was conducted a month to a month and a half later than traditionally done in the past. During this time, SBW egg masses can be lost due to natural degradation and weathering. This could potentially result in an underestimation of SBW egg mass densities.

To test if this was indeed happening, 43 susceptible host-trees were chosen in stands in the Goose Bay area where SBW populations were known to be active. One whole branch was collected from the midcrown of each tree in late August. The length and width of each branch was also measured to allow egg mass densities to be expressed as the number of egg masses per 10 sq m of foliage These branch samples were sent to the lab in Pasadena and the number of new or newly hatched egg masses determined through careful visual observation. In the fall of the year, this same process was repeated by sampling one whole branch from the same trees.

To determine if there was a statistical difference in the mean and median number of egg masses collected in the late summer versus the fall, a number of parametric (ANOVA - analysis of variance; Fisher’s LSD multiple range test) and a non-parametric test (Kruskal-Wallis) was conducted. Summary statistics and results of these tests are summarized in the following table. Once again, summary statistics are based on the actual number of egg masses found/whole branch and number of egg masses/10 sq m; however, the tests (ANOVA, Fisher’s LSD, Kruskal-Wallis) for differences between the means and median values were done using data transformed by a LOG function given non-normality in the original data.

Irregardless of the sample unit used, the results clearly indicated that the mean and median number of egg masses found was lower in branch samples collected during the fall versus those collected in late summer. This obviously would result in underestimating SBW population/damage levels. IDMC staff conducting the visual processing of branch samples also commented that new or newly hatched egg masses were more easily seen on branches collected in the late summer than those observed (i.e. often only partial egg masses) on branches collected in the fall.

If the number of egg masses on branch samples is to be used for forecasting SBW population/damage levels in the future, the timing of the survey is critical and should be done in the late summer, not the fall. Eventually the IDMC may have the lab facilities needed to process the L2 or second instar larval stage of the SBW. This is the over wintering stage of the insect and there is a much broader window for sampling. Branch samples processed for over wintering larvae can be collected in the fall at the same time that HL samples are collected without any fear of under forecasting results due to degradation/weathering of the eggs or egg masses.

Sample Unit

Time of Year

n

Mean

Median

ANOVA

Fisher’s LSD Multiple Range

Kruskal-Wallis Ranks

Source

Sum of Squares

Df

Mean Square

F-Ratio

P-Value

Late Summer

43 8.0 5.0 Bet. group 11.2361 1 11.2361 6.70 0.0114 48.7674

Fall

41 4.5 2.0 With. group 137.493 82 1.67675 35.9268

Total (Corr) 148.729 83

X X

Late summer counts >

Fall counts

Egg masses/ whole branch

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value = 0.02686 Statistical difference

Late

Summer 43 160.4 113.2 Bet. group 36.1045 1 36.1045 5.91 0.0173 48.9

Fall

41 87.4 45.9 With. group 501.229 82 6.11255 35.7

Total (Corr) 537.334 83

X X

Late summer counts >

Fall counts

Egg masses/ 10 sq m

P-value of F-test less than 0.05 indicates a statistical difference between means (see Fisher’s LSD)

P-value= 0.0123721 Statistical difference

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Appendix E - Research project updates

Dispersion Climatology for Aerial Application of Pesticides over Canadian Forests

Brian Amiro and Amanda Taylor

Department of Soil Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2 [email protected]

Abstract

Atmospheric dispersion conditions were calculated for a boreal forest test case site near Thompson Manitoba to estimate the frequency of conditions suitable to aerial application of pesticides. Data from the Fluxnet Canada/ Canadian Carbon Program flux tower archives provided measures of the Monin-Obukov Length (atmospheric stability indicator) and wind speed at a height of 30 m for the 1994-2008 period. For the May 15 to June 30 window of likely insecticide application, 65% of the day-light times were atmospherically unstable, and about 70 to 85% of early morning periods had suitable conditions for application. Further work will use these data to estimate dispersion conditions and expand to other forest sites.

Efficacy of pheromone-based methods of suppressing populations of brown spruce longhorned beetle (BSLB), Tetropium fuscum (F)

Jon Sweeney, Peter J. Silk, Marc Rhainds, Wayne MacKay, Edward G. Kettela

Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, P.O. Box 4000, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5P7

Abstract

We tested the efficacy of aerial applications of Hercon BioFlakes® formulated with racemic fuscumol for mating suppression and control of the brown spruce longhorn beetle (BSLB) from 2009–2012. From 2009-2011, significant reductions in mating success were achieved every year but infestation levels were reduced only in 2009. In 2012, we used larger sized plots (9 ha rather than 4 ha) in an effort to reduce the chance of mated BSLB females dispersing into treated plots from untreated areas. Flakes were applied at 2.5 kg/ha to four 9 ha plots, with four paired untreated control plots. Pheromone-treated plots differed significantly from untreated plots with: 1) lower mean catches of BSLB in pheromone-baited traps; 2) lower mating success of BSLB females; and 3) lower mean density of BSLB larvae in girdled red spruce. Efficacy data has been sent to Hercon Environmental to support pursuit of registration of fuscumol disrupt BioFlakes® for control of BSLB.

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Developing and testing of user-friendly spray formulations for the application of semiochemicals to control of forest insect pests.

C. M. Riley Agrifor Biotechnical Services Ltd., 151 Queen Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 7J2, Canada

Abstract

The work described in this report is a continuation of the project that was initiated in June 2009 and that has been supported with funding from members of SERG International and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. The report describes the on-going development and testing of sprayable formulations for the application and controlled release of semiochemicals for the management of forest insect pests.

A small-scale field test to evaluate the effect of source location on the effect of synthetic spruce budworm pheromone on mating disruption at different heights in the forest canopy is reported. Alternative microencapsulation techniques have been investigated but were unsuccessful. Two new encapsulated materials containing spruce budworm pheromone were procured for testing. Release rate characteristics of the two materials are being evaluated in the laboratory based on the concentration of residual pheromone over an eight-week exposure time. So far, at least one material has produced what would be considered encouraging results. The viscous prototype formulations that had been developed and tested in the laboratory were tested in the field and proved to be incompatible with the wind-driven centrifugal pumps that are typical of aerial spray systems. Additional formulation ingredients were obtained and laboratory experiments were continued to improve the stability and handling characteristics of the prototype spray mixes. Long-term tests on the shelf-life of unformulated encapsulated pheromone materials in the freezer have been continued. Additional data points have been generated to document the shelf- life of encapsulated materials that have been in cold storage since being procured.

Identification of sex pheromone for monitoring balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis (Harr.)).

Gaetan LeClair1, Peter Silk1, Peter Mayo1, Eldon Eveleigh1, Robert C. Johns1, Allard Cossé2, David MaGee3

1 Natural Resources Canada, Atlantic Forestry Centre, 1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 5P7

Canada 2 Crop Bioprotection Research Unit, USDA, ARS National Center for Agricultural

Utilization Research, Peoria, IL 61604, USA 3 Department of Chemistry, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B 6E2

Canada Abstract – The Balsam fir sawfly (BFS), Neodiprion abietis Harris (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), sex pheromone remains unknown and its structure elucidation would generate a powerful monitoring tool. Currently, control measure for BFS exists under the form of a formulation of a naturally occurring baculovirus but monitoring relies on visual scouting. The focus of the research thus far was to identify the

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sex pheromone used by BFS. Adults were reared from pupae collected in the field or from larval rearing. While volatile collecting did not yield pertinent information for various reasons, whole body rinses of males and females contain sex-specific compounds, olefins in males and acetates in females. The olefins were thought to be precursors to aldehydes via photo-oxidation and they did show EAG activity against male antennae, and may be a semiochemical that could attract females and/or males, possibly giving a means to establish the sex ratio of the population. The mass spectra analysis of the female acetates lead to the identification of secondary acetates with a 3-methyl branch, the anticipated pheromonal skeleton. However, neither acetate or aldehyde field trials captured significantly different than that of the control. Further analysis, based on the varying intensity of the acetate fragment at m/z=61, let to a different structure, where no methyl branch occurred and the acetate was found on the first carbon, not the second. These will be tested against reared adults when possible.

Response of the boreal forest to eastern spruce budworm outbreaks under a changing climate

Deepa Pureswaran1, Louis De Grandpré1 and Dan Kneeshaw2

1Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, 1055 du P.E.P.S., Sainte-Foy QC, G1V 4C7, Canada 2Sciences biologiques et ISE, Université du Québec à Montreal, Canada

COLLABORATORS

David Gray. CFS-AFC. Phenology models. David Paré. CFS-LFC. Soil nutrient dynamics. GRADUATE STUDENTS Mathieu Neau. MSc Student. Université du Québec à Montréal. Effect of microclimate on bud burst phenology of balsam fir and black spruce and spruce budworm performance. Jorge Monerris. PhD Student. Université du Québec à Montréal. Effect of stand structure and composition of black spruce forests on susceptibility to eastern spruce budworm defoliation.

ABSTRACT

Climate change is expected to alter forest insect disturbance regimes as a result of changes in phenological synchrony that would occur between insects and their host trees. Understanding the impact of these changes on forest response and ecosystem resilience will allow us to predict forest vulnerability. We are evaluating the impact of a rising eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), outbreak in ten 4000 m2 permanent research plots on Quebec’s North Shore. All trees > 10 cm dbh are being mapped, measured and tagged to follow them during the course of the infestation. Defoliation in nine of these plots was estimated since 2006. Pure black spruce stands are currently less defoliated than pure balsam fir or mixed stands. Stands with high defoliation in 2010 tended to have less defoliation in2011, whereas, light and moderately defoliated stands increased in defoliation in 2011. There was a resurgence in defoliation levels in 2012 in the stands that had declined the previous year indicating recovery of foliage on trees as well as population growth of the insect. As the infestation progresses, the largest balsam fir trees are being more severely defoliated than smaller trees in the stand. Growth decline and tree mortality are yet to be observed. In experiments that measured the influence of incident light and ambient temperature on the timing of bud burst and shoot elongation on balsam fir and black spruce throughout the summer of 2011 and 2012, buds of both species flushed earlier and overwintering larvae emerged sooner in warmer microclimates suggesting that

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temperature influences the phenology of both host tree species and the spruce budworm. This raises questions about the potential susceptibility of boreal black spruce forests to the spruce budworm under a warming climate. Data on growth decline and nutrient content of defoliated trees, regeneration of saplings early in the infestation cycle as well as soil litter and nutrient content are also being collected and analysed to provide a holistic understanding of ecological processes that occur early in the outbreak cycle of the spruce budworm.

Comparative olfactory physiology of invasive North American Tetropium fuscum (F.) with native European T. fuscum and T. castaneum (L.)

Colin MacKay1, Jon Sweeney2, Kirk Hillier1

1 Biology Department, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada 2 Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Fredericton, NB, Canada.

The brown spruce longhorn beetle, Tetropium fuscum (Fabr.) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is an invasive species native to Europe that has become established in Nova Scotia. Single sensillum recordings were used to investigate the response of T. fuscum from both European and Nova Scotia populations to biologically relevant olfactory stimuli. In the NS population, recordings were obtained from 109 different sensilla and grouped into 49 types based on the compounds that elicited a response. The male-produced aggregation pheromone fuscumol accounted for 25% of all responses on its own and 43% responses total. Males and females did not differ in the number of sensilla that responded to fuscumol, either alone or with other compounds. Linalool elicited a response in the greatest number of sensillar types (63%). In the European population, recordings were obtained from 87 sensilla and grouped into 71 types. Fuscumol accounted for only 7% of all responses on its own and 38% of responses total. Linalool elicited responses in 66% of all sensillar types. Data gathered will develop a sensillar profile of physiological responses and may be useful for improving current pheromone- and host volatile-based mitigation initiatives. No T. castaneum emerged and therefore could not be included in this investigation.

SERG‐I Project 2012‐2014   Interim report for 2013 Evaluating the inoculation of seedlings with endophytic fungi to improve tolerance of 

conifers to spruce budworm and white pine blister rust 

 

Dan Quiring1, Greg Adams2,6, Leah Flaherty3, David Miller4, Andrew McCartney5  1  Entomological Research Services Inc., 56 Cedar Ridge Drive, Douglas, NB, E3G 7X1  2  J.D. Irving, Limited, 181 Aiton Road, Sussex East, NB, E4G 2V5  3  Population Ecology Group, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New       Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, E3B 6C2  4  Ottawa�Carleton Institute of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6  

5  Maritime Forest Research Limited, 1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, NB, E3C 2G6  6  Corresponding author: [email protected]; phone: 506�432�2844  

   Abstract    

Plants commonly form mutual associations with microbiological organisms and these associations are thought  to  benefit  both  parties; plants  provide microbes with  protection  and  photo  assimilate  in exchange  for  increased  tolerance  of  the  host  to  biotic  and  abiotic  stresses.  Certain  mutualistic 

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associations between plants and microbes are particularly well characterized and, in some instances, are exploited for commercial benefit. Associations between endophytes (fungi that live inside needles) and conifers,  however, are  a  class  of mutualisms  less well  understood,  but  nevertheless, demonstrate potential for commercial application. Our research efforts over the past several years have concentrated on identifying and characterizing endophytes of spruces and pines that produce metabolites that are toxic to  common  conifer  needle  insect  and  disease  pests,  in  particular  spruce budworm  (Choristoneura fumiferana) and white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola). This work has led to the development of novel  technologies whereby nursery‐grown seedlings are  treated with  these beneficial endophytes, forming long‐term mutual associations and, thereby, providing plantations with an increased level of tolerance toward needle pests. While  this  technology has been shown  to be effective  in  laboratory experiments, experiments testing its effectiveness in field settings are limited. The purpose of this three‐year study, therefore, is to begin to better understand the endophyte‐host‐pest dynamic in nature, with particular emphasis on quantifying the level of tolerance endophytes offer to trees exposed to either spruce budworm grazing or white pine blister rust infections. Work in the past year (the first year of the project)  focused  on  developing  experimental  designs, methodologies,  and  conducting  preliminary experiments that will guide experiments in subsequent years of the project. By the end of the project the knowledge gained will enable a better assessment of the value of using endophyte enhancement within a larger forest pest management framework.   

The dynamics of endemic and rising spruce budworm populations. Part 1: Demographics. SERG-i Project FPL622. Dynamics of Endemic Spruce Budworm Populations Interim Report February 2013. Rob Johns1, Véronique Martel2, Deepa Pureswaran2, Jacques Régnière2, Lucie Royer2 (authorship in alphabetical order) 1Atlantic Forestry Centre, CFS, Fredericton, NB. 2Laurentian Forestry Centre, CFS, Quebec City, QC.

Abstract. This is a summary of the 2012 results of ongoing observations of spruce budworm population dynamics in rising outbreaks. We report on the population measurements and natural enemy impacts in endemic populations at Armagh and Epaule, and in six rising outbreak populations in the Lower St. Lawrence region, three of which were treated with Bt. We detected no effect of the Bt applications on any aspect of the dynamics of the treated populations. There was considerable inverse density dependence of survival among populations, explained very well by the variation of natural enemy impacts. There was also very low recruitment (oviposition), compatible with a mating-success Allee effect. As a result, populations in the study area are having great difficulty “taking off”, and have been causing limited defoliation for at least the past 3 years. This state of populations dynamics suggests the very real possibility of applying control strategies to maintain populations at endemic levels in an early intervention strategy.

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The dynamics of endemic and rising spruce budworm populations. Part 2: Sentinels and cohorts. Rob Johns1, Véronique Martel2, Deepa Pureswaran2, Jacques Régnière2, Lucie Royer2 (authorship in alphabetical order) 1Atlantic Forestry Centre, CFS, Fredericton, NB. 2Laurentian Forestry Centre, CFS, Quebec City, QC.

Abstract. This report presents the 2012 results of ongoing observations of spruce budworm population dynamics in rising outbreaks. We report on natural enemy impacts on the two endemic populations in Armagh and Epaule, and in six rising outbreak populations in the Lower St, Lawrence region east of Rimouski QC, as measured by implanted insects. The dynamics of budworm in Armagh have remained pretty much unchanged in 2012. However, overall parasitism has dropped in Epaule. For the second year in a row, the numbers of moths caught in pheromone traps have increased. We have detected strong inverse density dependence in the impact of several parasitoids, in particular the ichneumonid wasp Tranosema rostrale, echoing results obtained in 2010 on the North Shore and and in 2011 in the Lower St. Lawrence. The accumulation of similar results points very strongly to the role of generalist parasitoids in keeping SBW populations in an endemic state.

The dynamics of endemic and rising spruce budworm populations. Part 3: Vertical distribution of mating success in the crown SERG-i Project FPL622. Dynamics of Endemic Spruce Budworm Populations Interim Report February 2013. Johanne Delisle and

Jacques Régnière

Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Box 10380, Stn. Sainte- Foy, Québec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada

Abstract An experiment conducted in 2012 in six plots of the Lower St. Laurence region, east of Rimouski, has confirmed that

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mating success of the spruce budworm (SBW) increases with increasing population density, and that, at equal density, mating success was significantly higher in the upper crown of the tree than the middle or lower crown. The same trends were also observed in the number of males captured in pheromone traps. During the emergence of wild females, a pronounced decrease in the mating success of caged females was observed, regardless of their vertical position in the tree. Results also indicate that stand composition (coniferous/deciduous) influences SBW mating success.

Full-Physics Atmospheric Modeling of Drop Release, Transport and Deposition

Ian M. McLeod, MScE, P.Eng University

of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada Abstract

Forests and the role of forestry in the Canadian economy are under constant threat of insect outbreak. Millions of dollars are spent each year combatting the outbreaks and mitigating the associated risks. Aerial application has been the method of choice for the application of many insecticides because it can cover large, remote areas effectively and within the often-short periods of insect susceptibility. In the modern regulatory environment, bio-insecticides are favoured, but they are expensive and every effort must be taken to ensure that a maximum amount of product lands on the intended target. In addition, applications are now targeted only in the highest risk areas, meaning that blocks are much smaller, more numerous and more difficult to treat than ever before. Since 2006, FPL has worked on the development of an aerial management system (AMS) that assists pilots by guiding them onto optimal trajectories and by automatically controlling the spray system for precise application. FPL’s AMS considers real- time altitude and meteorological data, then estimates a trajectory that compensates for predicted spray drift. The prediction algorithm lies at the heart of an AMS, but it has recognized limitations, specifically in modeling atmospheric turbulence and its effect on spray droplet dispersion in the aircraft wake. The objective of this research is therefore to develop a computational model using large eddy simulation that that takes into account the influences of atmospheric turbulence on spray dispersion and enhances drift prediction algorithms for use in the field. The boost in spray efficacy as a result of drift prediction improvements can benefit forest applicators and agricultural applicators the world over. At present, one PhD student and one MScE student are working on the foundation of the computational model. In coming years, 2 other graduate students will join parallel research streams to the project to validate computational models in the field and in a deposition laboratory. The research is funded by Forest Protection Limited, SERG-International and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council – Collaborative Research and Development grant.

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Comparisons of Btk aerial spraying strategies against the eastern spruce budworm, based on protection timing and intensity during a complete outbreak episode.

Alain Dupont1, Richard Trudel1, Éric Bauce2, Richard Berthiaume2 and Catherine Henry1

1 Société de protection des forêts contre les insectes et maladies, 1780 Semple, Quebec City,(QC) G1N 4B8 2 Consortium iFOR, Université Laval, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 2405 de la Terrasse, Quebec City (QC) G1V 0A6

Abstract In order to contribute to the optimization of forest protection against the spruce budworm (SBW), a comparative study on intervention strategies was undertaken, which is based on different aerial spraying of biological insecticide (Btk) approaches. Those strategies can be defined as complementary and more or less intensive interventions, applied according fixed or variable sequences. Once this project completed, several options may be available to managers so that they can maximize the benefits of spray programs, while providing the required protection level depending on the objectives of forest management and their ability to invest to reduce SBW impacts. Following the contribution of SERG-I members in 2012, we wish to present as a first step, the different strategies studied, as well as the outline of the project.

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Managing hemlock looper in a changing environment

L. Royer, J. Delisle, V. Martel and J. Régnière

Abstract This report presents the 2012-2013 results of the ongoing research project aiming to determine and evaluate the major ecological factors affecting the population dynamics of hemlock looper (HL) with the overall purpose of providing the critical information required to predict HL phenologies and population densities in a changing environment. We present the results of field and laboratory experiments to determine the impact of the vertical location in the tree on the overwintering mortality of HL eggs and the attack of HL eggs by Telenomus species, the effect of feeding and mating on the longevity of T. coloradensis adults, as well as the behaviour and the choice of T. coloradensis females in patches containing two potential host species: HL and whitemarked tussock moth eggs.

Progress This research project aims to determine and evaluate the major ecological factors affecting the population dynamics of hemlock looper (HL) with the overall purpose of providing critical information required to develop predictive tools and alternative control strategies for effective HL management in a changing environment. Recently, northern HL populations have increased most likely in response to global warming. We have now a unique possibility to study the biological characteristics of northern populations of HL and pro-actively develop decision making tools that have the flexibility to predict density and phenology of any HL populations, regardless of their locations. Results of this project will improve our capacity to apply suppression tactics when and where they are most needed to protect the timber resource.

In 2012-2013, we further investigated the HL egg mortality factors by determining (1) the impact of vertical location in the tree (a) on the overwintering mortality of HL eggs, and (b) on the attack of HL looper eggs by Telenomus species. We also explored some components of Telenomus biology by quantifying (2) the effect of feeding and mating on the longevity of T. coloradensis adults, and (3) the behaviour and the choice of T. coloradensis females in patches containing two potential host species: HL and whitemarked tussock moth (WTM) eggs.

Our previous results indicated that an important component of HL population dynamics was the egg survival. In fall 2011 and summer 2012, we investigated the effect of the vertical location of eggs in the tree on the probability of HL overwintering mortality and mortality caused by egg parasitoids of the genus Telenomus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae). Three balsam fir stands were selected in the area of Baie Verte, NL. In fall 2011, 6 sentinel traps (foams with HL eggs from colony) were set up at different heights (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 m above ground) on each of the 6 randomly selected dominant or co-dominant balsam fir trees in each site. HL eggs were thus exposed to natural weather conditions and egg parasitoids from fall 2011 to the beginning of June 2012, when traps were collected just before HL hatching. Eggs were individually placed in gelatine capsules and reared at 20.0 ± 1°C, 75 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16L: 8D. At the end of the summer, all Telenomus adults were identified, and unhatched eggs were dissected to determine the potential cause of mortality. Binary logistic model analyses (binomial distribution, link function logit) were used to determine the effect of vertical location on egg mortality with site as random effect.

The vertical location of HL eggs in the tree affected their winter survival (F = 9.488, d.f.1,2 = 5, 875, p < 0.0001). HL egg mortalities were about 40% at all heights, except at 2.5 and 5.5 m above ground level where

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it reached almost 60% (Fig. 1A). The ecological factors influencing HL egg mortality at these strata will have to be further investigated.

Few eggs were parasitized by T. flavotibiae (N=23) and T. droozi (N=9), and parasitism incidences by these species were not correlated with height (F ” 1.098 G.I.1,2 = 5, 875, p 0.360) (Fig. 1B). However, the probability of being attacked by T. coloradensis was influenced by the vertical location of HL eggs in the tree (F = 12.885, d.f.1,2 = 5, 875, p <0.0001) (Fig. 1B). Parasitism incidences higher than 40% were obtained at 0.5, 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 m above ground level, with the lowest probability of HL eggs being attacked at 1.5 and 2.5 m. This result suggests that sentinel traps placed at breast height might underestimate the parasitism rate. Moreover, T. coloradensis females might avoid area in the tree where high overwintering mortality of their host (2.5 m) occurs, which might optimize research efficiency. However, the ecological factors influencing the foraging behaviour of T. coloradensis females would have to be investigated. The vertical location of HL eggs did not influence the sex ratio of T. coloradensis (F = 1.800, d.f.1,2 = 5, 30, p= 0.143), which was female-biased (Fig. 1C). This result suggests that the female perception of host quality was not dependent on egg location in the tree.

Last year, preliminary experiments on the reproductive strategy of T. coloradensis indicate that females might need time after emergence to mature eggs (synovigeny), and the oviposition activity might be cyclical. In synovigenic species, a cycle of oviposition is expected, but it is also expected that females will feed on nectar and/or hosts to mature and produce eggs. Therefore, we investigated this year the effect of feeding and mating on the longevity of both sexes of T. coloradensis.

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Parasitized eggs from sentinel traps exposed to natural populations of egg parasitoids in the area of Baie Verte were individually reared in laboratory at 20 ± 1°C, 75 ± 5% RH, and under a photoperiod of 16L: 8D. Upon emergence, half of the adults were mated. Mated and unmated males and females were then randomly assigned to one of the 3 feeding treatments (nothing, water, and 20% sugar solution) and observed daily to determine their longevity. About 25 individuals were tested in each feeding and mating treatment. A generalized linear mixed model analysis was performed to determine the effect of feeding and mating on the longevity of both sexes of T. coloradensis.

Adults of Telenomus coloradensis survived longer when they had access to a 20% sugar solution (Fig. 2, Table 1). However, females benefited more of carbohydrate access than males as their longevity increased 5 to 6 times, compared to an increase of about 2 to 3 times for males. Mating status had no effect on the longevity of T. coloradensis adults, suggesting that males do not provide nutrients to female during mating or that nutrients are not used to prolong female lifetime (Table 1).

Last year preliminary experiments on the reproductive strategy of T. coloradensis indicate that experimental conditions were not optimal for the oviposition of T. coloradensis females, since the percent of ovipositing female was less than 50% in all treatments. We also demonstrated in a previous project that Telenomus species needed alternative hosts to complete their cycles in nature. The use of a host easier to produce than HL to rear Telenomus species would greatly facilitate investigations of the biology of these species. To understand the local host foraging strategy of T. coloradensis females, we therefore quantified the behaviours and the choice of T. coloradensis females in patches containing two potential host species: HL and whitemarked tussock moth (WTM), Orgyia leucostigma (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae).

T. coloradensis females used in this experiment were provided with 20% sugar solution and came from sentinel traps exposed to natural populations of egg parasitoids in the area of Baie Verte, NL. The HL eggs were produced at the LFC in summer 2011 and overwintered in an outdoor insectary, while post-diapausing WTM eggs were obtained from the Insect Production Services of the Canadian Forest Service in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The mixed host patches were constituted of 5 eggs of each species (HL and WTM) placed equidistantly and alternately on the perimeter of a circle (diameter = 1.5 cm). Individual naïve virgin females of T. coloradensis, aged from 9 to 11 days (N=26), were then placed at the centre of the patch circle. All the observations were undertaken from 9:00 to 12:00 am at 20 ± 1°C and each female was videotape for a period of 1.5 h using a Dino-Lite digital microscope (model AD-413ZT) and the DinoCapture 2.0 software. The following behaviours were quantified using the software B e h a v e : grooming, resting, wind fanning, oviposition, antennation before and after laying and location related to the patch. The zone (egg zone with the

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host species, neutral zone, or off-patch) where the behaviours occurred was also noted. Volumes of parasitized and unparasitized eggs were estimated using equations of an ellipsoid (V = 4πab2/3) and a sphere (V = 4πr3/3) for HL and WTM, respectively. Behaviours and choices were compared using ANOVAs with repeated measures, using females as individuals, and followed by a least significant difference analysis (LSD).

The female age did not influenced searching and oviposition behaviours (P > 0.05). Therefore, the data of all females were pooled. Only 10 T. coloradensis females out of 26 parasitized at least one host under the experimental conditions. However, the successful females were finding quickly their first host (3.5 ± 1.9 min), which was an HL egg in 90% of the cases. Although 80% of the successful females parasitized both host species, they attacked twice as many HL than WTM eggs. In average, they attacked 6.3 ± 0.7 eggs during the observation period and spend most of their time (96 ± 1%) ovipositing (Fig. 3A). The oviposition of T. coloradensis was very long (10-12 min) for such a small parasitoid, and took more time in an HL than a WTM egg (F = 5.917, p = 0.0179) (Fig. 3B). However, oviposition duration was not apparently related to the egg size as the WTM eggs were twice the volume of HL eggs (F=29.52”; p ≤ 0.005). Moreover, the selection of eggs was not related to their size within a host species; the volume of parasitized eggs did not differ from that of unparasitized eggs (Fig. 3C). T. coloradensis females exhibited two bouts of antennation during an oviposition sequence: one before and one after the laying. There was no difference in the antennation durations before and after laying in HL eggs, whereas the antennation after laying was significantly shorter in WTM eggs (F = 15.91, p < 0.005), but antennation duration before laying was similar to that observed with HL eggs (Fig. 3D). The antennation before laying is often associated with the assessment of host quality and acceptability, while the antennation after laying is related to the verification

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of mark let by the female during oviposition, which may indicate the parasitized status of the host. Therefore, T. coloradensis females seem to accept for oviposition WTM eggs that could be an alternative host in nature and for laboratory rearing. However, because our rearing rooms malfunctioned, all tested eggs died and we could not determine if WTM eggs were suitable for T. coloradensis development. The suitability will thus have to be verified.

In summary, HL eggs located at 2.5 and 5.5 m above ground level showed the lowest survival rate, but the ecological factors influencing HL egg mortality at these strata will have to be further investigated. Parasitism by T. flavotibiae and T. droozi were not correlated to the vertical location of HL eggs. However, the probability of being attacked by T. coloradensis was lower at 1.5 and 2.5 m above ground level than at the other strata. This result suggests that sentinel traps placed at breast height might underestimate the parasitism rate. Moreover, T. coloradensis females might avoid area in the tree where high overwintering mortality of their host occurs, which might improve research efficiency. However, the ecological factors influencing the foraging behaviour of T. coloradensis females would have to be further studied.

Adults of T. coloradensis survived better when they had access to sugar, but females benefited more than males of carbohydrate access.

T. coloradensis females invested a very long period parasitizing each host, and they seem to readily accept WTM eggs that could be an alternative host in nature and for laboratory rearing. However, the suitability of WTM for T. coloradensis development will have to be determined.

All parts of this project are progressing well and as described in the proposal. Acknowledgment of supporters/funders

DNR of Newfoundland and Labrador $48K Ministère des ressources naturelles et de la faune du Québec 2K DNR of Nova Scotia $1K