Is a changing climate exacerbating activity of larch casebearer?

Sunday, November 13, 2022

3:30 PM – 3:42 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 203

Presenting Author(s)

BA

Brian Aukema

Professor
University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Co-Author(s)

SS

Spencer Stout

University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
AG

Allistacia Gebauer

University of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
SW

Samuel F. Ward

Assistant Professor of Insect Ecology
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi

Larch casebearer (Coleophora laricella) is an invasive needle-mining insect that was accidentally introduced to the eastern United States in the late 1800s. While it was discovered feeding on eastern larch (Larix laricina) in Massachusetts, it also feeds on western larch (Larix occidentalis) in western regions. Severe or repeated defoliation can predispose trees to mortality from other pests such as eastern larch beetle. Following release of biological control agents from 1935 through the 1970s, larch casebearer populations decreased in western and eastern North America. In the past two decades, however, larch casebearer activity has resurged in the Great Lakes region. This presentation discusses how a changing climate may be affecting larch casebearer populations.