Tag: Bark beetles

A tribute to Thelma Perry

by Meredith Blackwell, professor emerita; and Brian Sullivan, research entomologist  • 
Thelma J. Perry was one of the first researchers to explore the remarkable relationships between bark beetles and their mutualistic fungi. Perry’s story is a monument to determination. An African American, she was born April 30, 1941 and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. After Perry graduated from high school, she attended Xavier University in New Orleans…  More 

New Sapwood Challenges “Perfect Storm” of Pine Fungal Infection

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer  • 
Loblolly pine trees may tolerate some fungal infection if they can form new sapwood. USDA Forest Service plant physiologist Mary Anne Sword Sayer, on a team with Ph.D. candidate John K. Mensah of Auburn University’s Forest Health Cooperative, conducted two studies in Alabama, one of young trees and one of mature trees. Loblolly pine (Pinus…  More 

How Do Weather, Insects, and Diseases Impact Forests? It Depends

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forests of the southern U.S. are among the most productive and intensively managed in the world. Disturbances naturally alter forest stands, sometimes creating conditions that benefit plant or animal communities, but can cause major economic losses to landowners. What’s more, the impacts from one disturbance may invite other disturbances – dead and damaged trees can…  More 

A Yearly Health Checkup for U.S. Forests

by Lars Pomara, Eastern Threat Center  • 
Every year, the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) program tracks changing forest conditions, including national assessments as well as focused regional analysis. The resulting report is the only national summary of forest health undertaken on an annual basis. Forests constantly change as a result of tree growth and mortality, weather events and climate…  More 

Assessing the Health of U.S. Forests

by Lars Pomara, Eastern Threat Center  • 
Forests are complex ecosystems. They are constantly changing as a result of tree growth, variations in weather and climate, and disturbances from fire, pathogens, and other stressors. The USDA Forest Service Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) program tracks these ongoing changes — every year, across the nation — as a forest health check up. The 2018…  More 

Definitive New Book on Saproxylic Insects

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Bark-feeders, fungus-feeders, wood-borers, and wood-nesting bees – all are saproxylic insects, which means they depend on dead or dying wood. The insects that prey on or parasitize them are also considered saproxylic. “About a third of all forest insect species are saproxylic,” says USDA Forest Service research entomologist Michael Ulyshen. Ulyshen recently edited a definitive…  More 

SRS Scientist Legacy: Continued Insect Research

by Stacy Blomquist, Kisatchie National Forest  • 
A USDA Forest Service research scientist extended his 50 year legacy by donating more than a million dollars to each of his alma maters. John Moser’s research focused on understanding the biology of town ants (Atta texana), phoretic mites, and other associates of ants and pine bark beetles. Moser received his undergraduate and graduate degrees…  More 

The State of the Nation’s Forests

by Stephanie Worley Firley, Eastern Threat Center  • 
Forests are constantly changing with weather, disturbance, and conversion to other land uses, but how do we know if year-to-year changes are just a one-off or part of a larger shift? Annual summaries of forest health are key to our understanding, say the editors and authors that produced Forest Health Monitoring: National Status, Trends, and…  More 

Where Are the Southern Pine Beetles?

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
Between 2005 and 2015, only 18 counties in the southern U.S. experienced southern pine beetle outbreaks–fewer than two outbreak counties per year on average. U.S. Forest Service entomologist Chris Asaro wanted to know why and worked with two other Forest Health Protection scientists, John Nowak and Anthony Elledge, on a new review paper published in Forest…  More