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Invasive Insects of Eastern North American Sugarbushes

Invasive pests have been identified as one of the major threats to biodiversity worldwide. Many bodies, including the United Nations, recognize invasive species for the long-term detrimental impacts that they could have on our ecosystems. The most cost- and effort-saving way of dealing with invasive species is to prevent their initial spread into an area. This guide provides a brief summary of invasive insect pests threatening maple-producing regions of eastern Canada and the United States.

Management Strategies for Invasive Plants in the Sugarbush

There are multiple approaches to treat or otherwise kill invasive plants that that the maple producer wants to control. The best treatment in one situation may not be best in another situation. Methods of treatment are typically either mechanical or chemical. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages depending on the circumstances.

Managing Invasive Plants in the Sugarbush

The history of introduction of invasive plants into the US is varied, but there are many examples of species that have become interfering after introduction in the middle 1800’s. In most cases the introduction was intentional because of the expectation of a benefit for humans or wildlife. Following are several invasive shrub species common in many areas of the maple syrup producing region of North America.

Forest Pests of North America

The purpose of this website is to provide images and information of insects, diseases, weeds, and abiotic factors that cause damage to urban, managed, and natural forests. This site aggregates pictures, publications, and tools from many sources and packages the resources in an easy, searchable format. This site is intended to be used by homeowners, land managers, volunteers, urban foresters, county agents, outreach educators, and anyone else interested in identifying and managing their trees and forests.

Spotted Lanternfly: A New Sugarbush Threat

A new foreign invader could have a substantially negative impact on the eastern North American hardwoods in general, and sugarbushes in particular. The Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula, SLF) was first detected near Philadelphia, PA in 2014 and since has spread throughout much of the Commonwealth and has been sighted in about a half dozen New York counties and in several sites in southern New England.

Ten Years with the Asian Longhorned Beetle Program in Massachusetts

ItÕs been 10 years since the ALB was first reported in Worcester, Massachusetts, and since then 24,179 ALB-infested trees have been found and removed, including the four trees mentioned. This has dramatically changed the character of the heaviest hit Worcester neighborhoods, Greendale and Burncoat, and resulted in a massive reforestation effort. Those neighborhoods were the center of the infestation and nearly every single host tree, including street trees, were removed in the effort to eradicate this pest. The DCR ALB Reforestation program, Worcester Tree Initiative, the city of Worcester, and the other five municipalities in the regulated area have replanted thousands of trees. Today, those young trees have become established and have started to provide much needed shade and wind breaks.

Asian Longhorned Beetle

This presentation by Tim Barwise (MA-DCR) the 2018 Vermont Maple Conferences covers the current infestation and the USDA-APHIS response to asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) in the greater Worcester, MA area.

Do Invasive Worms Threaten Northeast Maple Forests?

Some maple producers have reported low sugar maple regeneration that could be related to the presence of worms. This second wave of invasion by Asian earthworms is of concern to forest ecologists because of its potential disruption to the forest.

How to Identify and Control the Sugar Maple Borer

The sugar maple borer, Glycobius speciosus (Say), a long-horned wood boring beetle, is a common pest of sugar maple (the only known host) throughout the range of the tree. Although borer-caused mortality is rare, infestations lead to value loss through lumber defect caused by larval galleries, discoloration, decay, and twisted grain.