R ES UL T S 0 F FOR EST INS E eTA ND DIS E AS E SUR VEYSIN T HE N OR THe E NT R A L REG ION 0 F o NTAR I O. 1 983 (FOREST DI STRI CTS: ATI KOKAN, THU NDE R BAY, NIP IGO N, GERALDT ON and TERRA CE BAY) W. D. BIGGS and V. JAN SONS GR EAT LAK ES FORE ST RESE ARCH CEN TR E CANADIAN FORE STRYSERV ICE DEPARTMENT OF TH E ENV IRONME NT I9B4 MISCELL AN EO US REPORT NO . 2 Cl Hini s t e r of Supply and Servi ces Canada 1984 Ca talogue So . Fo29 -S/2E I SBN Q-662-13091-X I SSN 0826-0222 Co pies of this report: may be obt ained from: Great Lakes Forest Research Cent r e Canadi an Forestry Service Department of the Bmri-ronment: P. O. Boe 490 Sault see, Ma:zoie ~ Ont-ar-io P6A SM7 SURV EY HIGHL IGHTS This repor t summar i zes information ga t hered on various pests present i n t he No r t h Cent r al Regi on in 1983. The coope r a t i on and as­ s ist ance provided by the Ont ario Ministry of Na t ur al Reso urces (OMNK) ? t he f ores t i ndus t ry? Parks Canada and the Atmospher i c Environment Service ar e grat eful ly acknowledged . The extent of mode rate- to-sever e defoliati on by spr uce budworm increased by 70%, with the most s ubstant ial increases in the Atikokan and Nipigon di stricts. Spr uc e budworm-caused whole-tree and t op mor ­ tality of ba l sam f i r covered about 65, 794 ha in At i kokan and Thunder Bay districts, an increa se of about 40%. A new j ack pine budworm infest a­ tion wa s de t ected in Que eieD Pr ovincial Park and i s expected t o r ecur in 1984, wi th very littl e spread. The f ores t tent caterpil lar infesta­ t i on shifted sout h and decr eased i n s ize by almos t 100 km2 , but wi l l persist in 1984 . Birch skele tonizer populations partially collapsed , wi t h t he maj or i ty of t he damage remaining in t he western part of t he Region . Incr eased populations , of varying degrees, of red pine s awfly, eastern pi ne shoot borer , birch leafminer and balsam fir sa~ly were observed. Disease levels r emained much t he same , wi th slight increases in sp ruce needle r us t and t ar spot needle cast. Abi oti c damage in t he form of dr ought affected a much larger part of the Region, primarily the wes tern half. Speci a l surveys focused on black s pr uce t hi s year , with s ampl ing done i n 12 plantat ions and cones co l lected f rom t wo seed or char ds and t wo l owland sites. In addi t ion t o t he above special survey s , four semi­ permanent jack pi ne plots were r etallie d . If fur ther information i s r equi r ed about pest conditions i n t he Nor t h Cen t ral Region , pl ease contact the unde rsigned or write t o the Head , Forest Insect and Disease Survey Unit, Great Lakes Forest Res earch Cen t re. The same f orma t was f ollowed in categorizing pes t s a s in t he 1982 No r th Cen t r al Region r eport. ~~or Insects or Diseases capable of causing ser ious i njury to or death of l i ving trees or shrubs Fr onti spi e c e . Survey fie l d headquarters rn Thunde r Bay Minor Insects or Irieeaeee" capable of sporadic or l ocalized injury "but n ot usually a ser ious t hreat t o l iving t r ees or s hrubs Other Forest Insects/Diseases (TabLes) The se tables pr ovide i nformat i on on two t ypes of pest: 1 ) t hose which are of minor importance and have not been known t o cause se rious damage t o f orest tree s , 2) t hos e which are capable of causing serious damage but . beca us e of low popula t ions or f or o ther r e ason s, did no t cause s erious damage i n 1982 .. No minor diseases were r epor t ed in t he No rth Cen t r a l Region i n 1983 . w.o. Biggs V. Jansons TAB LE OF CONTE NTS Page INSE CTS Najor I nsects Bir ch Skel e t onizer, BuccuZatrix aanadensiseZZa .• . •. 1 (At ikokan , Ger aldton , Nipigon and Thunder Bay dist r icts) Spr uce Budworm, cnorietoneuxo f W1ti f erana . • • .• 1 (All districts) Jack Pine Budworm, Choris toneura pinus pi nus . 1 (At i kokan and Terrace Bay dist ricts) Ea s t ern Pi ne Shoot Bor e r , Eueosma glorioZa 4 (Ati kokan and Thunder Bay di s t r i cts) Birch Lea fminer , Fenusa pusiZla 5 (All di s t rict s) Forest Tent Cat erpi l l ar , Malacosoma diss t ria .. •.•• . 5 (Thunde r Bay Dist r i ct ) TNhites potted Sawyer , Monoc hcorroAS eaui:el:"latus 7 (Ger aldton, Nipigon , Ter r ac e Bay and Thunder Bay dist ric ts) Balsam Fir Sawf l y . Neo diprion abi etis 7 (Atikokan, Ger a l dt on an d Thunder Bay di s t rict s) Red Pi ne Sawfly . Neodiprion ncnul -us nanul.us . 7 (At i kokan, Ger aldton , Nipigon and Thunde r Bay dist r i cts) As pen Leaf bl ot ch Miner, PhyUono1"::fate r ontario . • .. 7 (All districts) Ycl l owheaded Spr uce Sawf ly, Pikonema alas kensi s 8 (All dis t r i c ts) Whi te Pi ne Weevi l , }M; s sodes strobi . .• . .• •. • • . 9 (All dist r ict s) Larch Sawfl y , P~;s tip hora erichsoni i . .•. 10 (Atikokan, Gera ldt on and Thunder Bay dist rict s ) Mountain-ash Sawf ly, Pristiphora qenioulat a 10 (Nipigon , Terrace Bay and Thunder Bay dist ricts ) (con t i nued) TABLE OFCONTENTS (cont inued) Page Mir.or Insects Ant Damage, Formica near exeeatoi-dee . .... •• • 10 (Thunder Bay District) Other f orest i nsects . .. .. .. .. 13 TREE DI SEASES Major Diseases Armillaria Roo t Rot , Armillaria me l-l-ea . ••••• ••• 16 (Atikokan, Ger al dton , Nipigon and Thunder Bay districts ) Dutch Elm Disea se, Oeratocuetrie uZmi .. • • . • .• . 17 (Thunder Bay Dist r ict ) Spr uce Needle Rusts. Chr1jsomyxa ledi and C. Ledico La ••• • • 17 (Ger al dt on and Thunder Bay districts) Tar Spot Needl e Cast , Davisomycella ampLa 17 (Geraldt on and Thunder Bay districts ) Hypo xylon Canker, Hypoxylon mammatwn ••••• 17 (Ger aldt on. Nipigon and Terr ace Bay distri cts ) Cytospora Canker , Leucos t oma kunzei 18 (Ger al dton and Nipigon di stricts) Other forest disea ses . ..... .. ... 19 Abiotic Damage :&lowdown • ••••• .•. ••••• 21 (At i kokan an d Thunder Bay dist ricts) Drough t . ... .. 21 (Atikokan, Nipi gon, Ter r ace Bay and Thunde r Bay dist ricts) Animal: Damage Porcupine •• • . • • •• .• ••• • •• . • • • • . • •• • 21 (Ni pi gon Di s t r ict) Bpeeial- Surveys Bl ack Spr uc e Pl an t a tions .. .. ... 24 (All districts ) (continued) TAB LE OFCONTE NTS (concluded) Page Special Surveys (continued) Black Spr uce Seed and Cone Pe s t s ••. 24 (Geraldton and Thunder Bay dist r icts) Semi- permanen t Jack Pine Plot s •• . .•.• • 29 (Ger aldton . Nipigon and Thunder Bay dis t r ict s) INS ECTS .'-k:zjor I neeete Birch Ske l e toni zer , ~~c~~Za trix canadensiseZZa Cham. The lar ge moderate- t o-severe i nfestation pr esent in 1982 al l but collapsed . with the exception of about 2, 800 ha of heavy damage in Atikokan and Thunder Bay districts (Fig. 1) . Pockets of hea vy br owning on white birch (Betula papyri/ era Mars h. ) we r e observed i n t he Calm and Factor lakes area and in the ~i l i l amson and Eye lakes ar ea in t he western par t of the Atikokan Di s t r ict . Moder a t e-to- heavy damage was also found a l ong t he northwestern edge of t he Sibley Peni nsula in Thunder Bay Dis trict . Scattered small pocket s of l ight damage wer e pre sent a t many l oca tions in the western ha l f of t he Atikakan Di s t r i ct ; howeve r . detection was not eas y be caus e of t he e ffec t s of dr ought on t he whit e birch (see Abiotic Damage ) . Smal l pocket s of l ow popul a t i ons ~ere observed i n Ashmore and Lindsay t owns hips in t he Ger a ldt on Di s t r i ct and at He len Lake In Nipigon Di strict. Low popul ati ons we re noticed a t other l ocati ons in t he Region . Spr uce Budworm, C'r:ol""~stoneura fumiferana (Cl em. ) Resu l t s of damage surveys 7 populat i on sampling and egg- mass counts of t hi s perennial pes t wil l be publ i shed with those o f other regions at a lat er da t e in a r eport specifical l y devoted t o t his insect.