A tiny, almost microscopic, insect is killing pine trees at Acadia National Park, where biologists and entomologists are trying to determine how widespread the infestation is and what can be done to slow it.
"Red pine scale" has been found in pine stands in the park on the south side of Norumbega Mountain near Lower Haddock Pond in the town of Mount Desert. The disease was first discovered in the United States in 1946 in Connecticut, and since then has severely affected red pine stands in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, and more recently, New Hampshire, according to the Park Service.
This is the first confirmed infestation of red pine scale in Maine, the agency added.
Red pine trees across Maine are under stress from multiple agents. Regular inspections of dying trees on Mount Desert Island by Maine Forest Service staff previously determined that two shoot blights have been contributing to mortality of red pine for at least five years, especially in areas of thin soils and southern exposures, a park release said. High levels of mortality from these fungal diseases may have delayed recognition of the tiny scale insects, which are about the size of the head of a pin.
This time of year, some life stages of the pest look like tiny elliptical shells, and others spin small, white, woolly tufts where they settle on the twigs.
National Park Service biologists are working with the Maine Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service entomologists and other conservation partners on response planning, including gathering more information about the extent of the infestation. The Park Service has announced that Mount Desert Island will be included in a new study of red pine decline across New England that will be conducted by researchers from the University of New Hampshire and the U.S. Forest Service. Park managers hope that lessons learned from this infestation will be used to slow further spread of red pine scale and protect forests from similar pests such as hemlock woolly adelgid.
Acadia Deputy Superintendent David Manski said that surveys to delineate affected areas will be conducted by trained entomologists this winter, when there is less risk of spreading the pest to unaffected areas.
Eggs, immature scales called “crawlers” and adult scales, all present now, can be carried on clothing and vehicles, as well as by birds, mammals and strong winds, according to park officials. Park staff will also survey Park Service forests adjacent to Sargeant Drive to identify and remove any dead trees that pose a hazard to motorists. “We anticipate that few of these trees will pose an immediate threat because red pine trees that have recently died are slow to decay and generally not susceptible to windthrow,” Mr. Manski added.
Park managers currently have no plans to cut and remove dead or dying red pines on large areas. Although salvage harvests have occurred in other states where red pine scale has killed trees, harvests do not appear to have prevented the spread of the insect. In fact, moving trimmed or harvested materials in spring through fall can actually spread the insect. Maine Forest Service Entomologist Allison Kanoti, who confirmed the identification of the red pine scale last week on materials submitted by a local gardener, advised that little research on other forms of control has been conducted recently.
Park biologists note that trees in the understory will likely respond to increased light conditions with quick and vigorous growth. As dead red pines trees begin to be recycled, they may provide important habitat for bats, woodpeckers, and other cavity dwellers, and will return nutrients to the soil for the next forest that will replace the dying overstory.
As with trees affected with shoot blights, branches on scale-impacted red pine tend to die from the bottom up. However, with scale damage, needles turn orange towards the inside of the tree first, with newer needles towards the tips changing color last. Park staff would like you to report areas suspected to have damage from this pest to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Maine Forest Service’s Insect and Disease Laboratory staff in Augusta at 207-287-2431 or email [email protected].
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Comments
Is Pine scale actually "invasive" or just a natural occurrance that in the long run, improves the health of th forest?
Red pine scale is an invasive insect found throughout southern New England, New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. It was identified in New Hampshire in fall 2012 at Bear Brook State Park. Most likely it was introduced to the US on exotic pines planted at the NY World’s Fair in 1939.
http://nhbugs.org/red-pine-scale
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20130702/News/307029459
http://www.telegram.com/article/20110821/NEWS/108219900/0
Conifers are taking a nose dive world-wide. This is a global phenomenon not limited to a few areas.
"most likely" doesn't cut it as evidence for me.
Is there evidence that the red scale hasn't existed for some time and that there haven't been prior outbreaks in the US? I only ask because I personally know the histeria that the Pine Beetle has created and the myths that have developed with it. Including it was an "invasive species." Fact is, if left alone, the forest will be far more diverse in the future. Unfortunately, folks want leave it alone.
Unsubstantiated opinions don't cut it as evidence for me.
What evidence do you have to offer that red scale has existed for some time before it was first identified in the US? What proof can you offer that it was not introduced in 1939? Can you cite some documented examples of the "histeria" (sic) and "myths" that have developed with it? Can you provide good scientifically backed evidence that if it is left alone the forest will be far more diverse in the future? And finally, can you provide good science showing clearly that a "diverse" forest will be of better quality than what exists now?
Perhaps there is wisdom when people "want" (sic) leave it alone. Can you explain why wisdom is a bad thing?
Please provide some solid supporting evidence for your opinions.
None. I never made the claim. I asked the question.
No because I never said there were any. I made that claim about pine beetle. Can give you plenty there if you would like.
No because I never made any claim about quaility. I merely claimed that the forest, if left alone after a pine beetle epidemic, will be more diverse. There is plenty of scientific evidence for that including what is happening in my back yard. Whether more diverse is "better quality" is a value judgement. I think it is.
I agree with your assessment that the forest could become more diverse. I was recently in a badly burned area of the northern rockies where most of the pines were incinerated into ash, and aspens and other deciduous trees like paper birch were shooting up all over the place less than a year later in what were thick pine forests last year. That will change the ecosystem in that area. It just won't be pine forests with a spattering of aspen and birch forests. It's going to be a lot more aspen and birch forests mixed with pines in the future.
Makes me wonder if you went back 500 years ago, if all those deciduous aspen forests that now inhabit so many of the lower elevations in the central rocky mountains existed at the same density? Somehow I doubt it. I think that's just a part of the natural evolutionary secession, especially as the climate retreats from the ice age. You'll see the encroachment of deciduous trees that are drought tolerant in areas that were historically pine forests, and they will habituate areas higher in elevation.
Unfortunately, that means in the eastern US these sort of trees like red pines, spruce, fir, and hemlocks will die out and be a lot less in numbers. But that's been occurring since the last ice age.
The polar vortex last year, which is a rare occurrence in today's world helped species like the hemlock. It killed off a large amount of hemlock wooly adelgids. But, that is not going to save it long term, unless polar vortex's and -15 degree temps become common place during winters because that's the only true way to devastate these invasive pests without the use of manmade chemicals and releasing non-native predator control. Plus, these trees are adapted to withstand those cold temps.
When it comes to wilderness, there are two groups. One says that humans are the best managers of it and should cut, spray and introduce organisms. The other asserts that nature will take care of and ultimately heal itself if man's thumbprint is reduced. I suspect that the commercial interests guide a majority of this line of thinking.