Spruce Budworm

Maine SBW Task Force

  • University of Maine
  • Cooperative Forestry Reasearch Unit
  • Center for Research on Sustainable Forests
  • Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry
  • Maine Forest Products Council
  • Maine Tree Foundation

News & Events

NB Pheromone Traps Reveals SBW Moth Populations

Update from the automatic pheromone traps in New Brunswick. First moth this year was caught in Saint Modeste (QC) on June 30. Pics are from trap captures for the nights of July 7-8 and 8-9. Catches have been mostly on the NW border of NB and South Tetagouche so far. Potential flights were in the SE direction the night of July 07-08. ... Read More ›

Maine Forest Service Releases 2018 SBW Update

The Maine Forest Service, cooperators within and outside the state, and Canadian provinces are working together to monitor and predict the growth of the spruce budworm population and its potential impact on the region’s forests. Over the last several years, Spruce budworm populations in Maine have left the “stable” phase and appear to be building. Pheromone and light trap catches have been up above zero for a number of years, defoliation in Quebec has increased year after year, defoliation has ... Read More ›

Changes in Spatiotemporal Patterns of 20th Century Spruce Budworm Outbreaks

In a newly released article ("Changes in Spatiotemporal Patterns of 20th Century Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in Eastern Canadian Boreal Forests") published in Frontiers in Plant Science, authors Lionel Navarro, Hubert Morin, Yves Bergeron and Miguel Montoro Girona provide for the first time a landscape reconstruction of the spatiotemporal pattern of spruce budworm (SBW) dynamics over the last century across a vast study area of almost 1 million km2 in the eastern Canadian boreal forest. In ... Read More ›

Quebec releases spruce budworm defoliation report

Quebec's Ministry of Forestry, Wildlife and Parks has released their annual aerial survey report on the status of defoliation by spruce budworm in the Province of Quebec. The report is available here (in French). Citation: MINISTÈRE DES FORÊTS, DE LA FAUNE ET DES PARCS (2018). Aires infestées par la tordeuse des bourgeons de l’épinette au Québec en 2018 - Version 1.0, Québec, gouvernement du Québec, Direction de la protection des forêts, 20 p. ... Read More ›

CFRU to Host Spruce Budworm Webinar

CFRU Webinar Series Spruce Budworm: Monitoring and Early Intervention Strategies February 14, 2018, 2:00 p.m. EST The first webinar in our new CFRU series will focus on spruce budworm monitoring and early intervention strategies. Following an update on spruce budworm conditions in Maine by Allison Kanoti, Rob Johns will speak to us about the New Brunswick's monitoring, early intervention, and communication strategies employed to combat spruce budworm in the province. There will be time ... Read More ›

What’s happening with New Brunswick’s Forest Pest Management Team this Season

The spring and summer are busy months for the Forest Pest Management Team at New Brunswick's Department of Energy and Resource Development (ERD).  From the day that seasonal staff arrives in June they get to work setting SBW pheromone traps throughout the province. These traps are used as early warning signs of population growth and you can read more about them in one of our previous blog posts. After the pheromone traps are hung, our staff switches focus to two vital components of the EIS ... Read More ›

To the north, spruce budworm treatment concludes and research begins

In New Brunswick, another year of experimental treatments for the Early Intervention Strategy (EIS) have come to pass. The 2017 treatments began on June 13th, when the spruce budworm larvae were entering their mid instar developmental stage. This timing is important as the insecticides we use must be eaten by the larvae to have an affect. This year our experimental treatment area covered 150 000 ha. To read the full post from Healthy Forest Partnership, click here.   ... Read More ›