Welcome to the Southern Research Station’s Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants Research Work Unit website. Our mission is to provide the basic biological and ecological knowledge and innovative management strategies required for management and control of native and non-native insect pests, disease pathogens and invasive plants in changing forest ecosystems. Learn more about us →
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Latest issue of Southern Forest Health Newsletter: Winter 2018
In this issue: Walnut twig beetle and kiln-dried wood, Avoiding unwanted insects in SPB traps, Native lace bugs and Chinese privet, Ulyshen edits new book on saproxylic insects, Noxious weed DNA barcode project wins honors, New York SPB team honored by USFS Chief, SGSF For. Health Meeting, Hemlock Conservation on the Chattahoochee NF, Brian Strom new FHP Field Representative.
News & Events
Termites and Dead Wood in Pine Plantations
A handful of the world’s 3,100 known termite species damage homes. In forests, however, termites are valuable.
“Termites recycle dead wood,” says U.S. Forest Service research entomologist Michael Ulyshen. Termites consume as much as 20 percent of the dead wood in forests, as Ulyshen showed in 2014.
Winter won’t wait...
In the Northern Hemisphere, winter officially starts at the same time every year. In 2017 it was on a Thursday, December 21st, the shortest day of the year. The Winter Solstice. And winter has swept into the Southeastern U.S. with some teeth this year.
SRS Shares Science at BugFest
On September 17, more than 35,000 insect enthusiasts gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, NC.
U.S. Forest Service employees were among them. As in years past, the Southern Research Station had a table at BugFest. Hundreds of children and adults stopped by to learn about SRS research and to see insects up close.
Latest Publications
- Assessment of abiotic and biotic factors associated with eastern white pine ( Pinus strobus L.) dieback in the Southern Appalachian Mountains
Schulz, Ashley N.; Mech, Angela M.; Asaro, Christopher; Coyle, David R.; Cram, Michelle M.; Lucardi, Rima D.; Gandhi, Kamal J.K. - Cristulariella moricola associated with foliar blight of Camden white gum ( Eucalyptus benthamii ), a bioenergy crop
Aubrey, Doug P.; Fraedrich, Stephen W.; Harrington, Thomas C.; Olatinwo, Rabiu - Walnut twig beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Colonization of eastern black walnut nursery trees
Audley, Jackson; Klingeman, William E.; Mayfield, Albert; Myers, Scott; Taylor, Adam - Elevated light levels reduce hemlock woolly adelgid infestation and improve carbon balance of infested eastern hemlock seedlings
Brantley, Steven T.; Mayfield, Albert (Bud); Jetton, Robert M.; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Zietlow, David R.; Brown, Cindi L.; Rhea, Rusty - Florida's forests, 2013
Brown, Mark J.; Nowak, Jarek; Vogt, James T.