If you’re looking for something positive about the deep freeze that gripped New Jersey last week, it could be a slowing of the southern pine beetle infestation. But foresters caution that cold weather is only part of the equation.
“If you have sustained cold, it will have an impact,” said Ron Corcory, Southern Pine Beetle Coordinator for New Jersey State Forestry Services. “But it’s not temperature alone. The beetle’s stage of development and the thickness of the bark also matter.”
The rice-sized beetles burrow into a tree’s cambium, just beneath the bark, to lay their eggs. Their tunnels cut off the flow of water and nutrients, killing the tree within a few weeks. Southern pine beetles attack all species of pine, but prefer loblolly, shortleaf, pitch and pond pines, all of which grow in southern New Jersey.
Currently, the beetle infestation has spread north to the Mullica River, where foresters hope to hold it in check. “Our recent efforts have had an impact,” said Corcory, “but we’re trying to keep it out of the heart of the Pinelands.”
State foresters will begin flyovers of the Pinelands in late January, weather permitting. From the air they look for stands of dead trees, with brown needles, and mark the location with GPS. Later, they check the dead trees from the ground to verify whether or not they are infested with beetles. Infested trees are cut down before the beetles can spread.
From The Cape May County Herald: https://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/environment/97789-cold+just+one+factor+affecting+pine+beetles