The forestry department has recently issued a warning of a possible beetle epidemic to the media. My comments.
by Ron Jones
Occasionally, a single tree in an un-infected area will seem to spontaneously erupt with beetles. Why? Well, I think that it is a division of a larger swarm having split off to propagate a new swarm. But, it is more complex than that.
Where do they come from in the first place? I mean, during the ebb of the multi-year cycle, they seem to completely disappear for years. This, to me, is one of those insect mysteries, like, for example, if a hard frost kills mosquitoes, why does Alaska have them? I'm sure there are entomologists who have studied the minutia of things like this but I am content to accept the fact that a tree in a healthy area will become infested.
This is the type of situation that will most likely be overlooked until too late. Unless one has the means and inclination to closely inspect the bark of each and every tree on a mountain, one will not see this tree. Without any dead or dying trees nearby, one is not inclined to look there.
I had just such a tree two years ago. By the time I saw it turn yellow last summer it was too late. I let it go. Last November there were 9 infested trees surrounding it.
Publications from the forestry department use the word "epidemic" when they double each year. But, I am experiencing a 9 fold increase! One needn't be a mathematician to understand the magnitude of the problem had I neglected those 9 and they increased 9 fold again.
This, then, is what EPIDEMIC means to me. -Ron
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Last updated October 27, 2003.
URL: http://landusecoalition.org/jones_beetle_commentary.htm