This news was reported by a local forester. According to her words this year the amount of jumping tree lice considerably exceeds the permissible norm and more than 14,000 trees are under threat.
This is not the first appearance of yellow-and-black bugs, they were seen in this locality last year. However, they did not represent such a danger and did not attract everyone's attention. This year the situation has changed dramatically.
The level of damage inflicted on trees is still not fully determined. The city forester Martha Barwinsky suggested that the spring dry weather was the reason for the situation. These bugs are about three millimeters long, and they were found in North America in the last century, but they are rather a new problem for Winnipeg.
Black ash trees make up most of the trees that are out on a limb (about 10000), the rest 4000 are mainly mancana ash or black-mancana hybrids. Unfortunately, pest control can't solve the problem at the moment and their actions are not very effective.
These bugs are called jumping tree lice because of their ability to jump from one tree to another. They live inside the leaves, suck the juice from them and fill the empty space with cotton substance. After a while, a healthy tree can die, if most leaves are damaged.
Martha Barwinsky is very confused about the situation that developed for these trees famous for their unusual color of the wood. Many trees can really die if not to take special measures. However, those measures that city authorities take to solve the problem are not enough.
Jumping tree licehave already been found in such large cities asSaskatoon and Edmonton. So, this ecological catastrophe is gaining an increasing scale. The authorities of these cities tried to use special tree drugs to kill the bugs, but the injections proved to be effective only in a small percentage of cases.
Let’s remember that this is not the first case of buginvasion in Winnipeg. City inspectors reported on the appearance of emerald ash borer last November. All types of ash trees could be damaged a lot because of that beetle.
Barwinsky really hopes that this time city pest control will try its best to overcome the existing threat. It is necessary to make every effort to protect the unique nature and to save as many such valuable black ash trees as possible.