Do you know where your mountain Pine Beetles are?

Right now millions of Mountain Pine Beetles are lying quietly under the bark of Alberta’s pine trees eating their way through the tree’s nutrient system and getting ready to emerge as adult pine beetles. Adult beetle with wings – ready to move on to the next stand of trees. This flight will take place later in the summer and will chew up more valuable timber and inject more of the blue-stain fungi into the pine, which ultimately kills the tree.

In Alberta control of the naturally occurring pest is largely through the use of controlled burns which destroy the insect and the trees. Getting to the root of the problem and understanding the complex relationship between the beetle, the tree, and the blue stain fungi is important so that Alberta can manage its forests, predict the spread of the threat, and find ways of controlling it.

Genome Alberta is already involved in a genetic approach to the Pine Beetle problem and this week announced another research project funded by Genome Alberta, Genome BC, and Genome Canada to build on the existing research investment.

Field crews have travelled over 19,000 kilometres armed with cordless drills, ‘write in the rain paper’, and pole pruners to check stands of affected and unaffected trees. With the newly announced 7.8 million dollar initiative, these crews will continue the work right up to the fall of 2012. Teams from university and government institutions across Alberta and B.C. are already analyzing the data so they can generate models and strategies to help overcome the threat.

Leading the Alberta portion of the effort is Dr. Janice Cooke from the University of Alberta. She expects that by combining all the genetic data with geographic and economic data, the new project can provide a more detailed picture of the problem. With the picture comes improved management of Alberta’s valuable forest resources.

While the beetles under the bark are spending their time right now feeding on Alberta’s trees, they are also developing the wings, antennae, and adult features that will help them disperse across a wider area. We still don’t fully understand how they choose the best trees to move to, but we do know that dry conditions in certain parts of the province this month are creating the ideal conditions for the spread of the beetle.

The Mountain Pine Beetle has already destroyed approximately 15 million hectares of pine trees in Western Canada which is an area twice the size of New Brunswick. Despite the hope that cold winters will ease the problem, the epidemic is not letting up. The forestry industry, tourism, and many rural communities are at risk so there is an urgent need for research into the biological mechanism causing the devastation. The newly announced multi-million dollar project and the work taking place already are addressing this need.

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