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[From Fall 1996]
Good news on the Southern Pine Beetle battle front! Recent aerial and ground
surveys have found no significant advancement of the infestation. On August 7, Rusty Rhea,
Forest Service-Forest Health, Asheville, NC; Howard Schlegel, Pest Management, Division of
Refuges, Washington Office; and Allen Carter, FWS Region 5, Regional Forest Management
Coordinator, Suffolk, VA, visited Chincoteague Refuge to evaluate Southern Pine
Beetle(SPB) activity in the loblolly pine habitat of the endangered Delmarva Peninsula fox
squirrel. Beetle activity was found only in one area (Woodland Trail), with two small
sites along Toms Cove with about 3-4 trees each. This low activity appears to confirm the
results of a study conducted this spring on the refuge. In cooperation with the Forest
Service-Forest Health Office and the Chincoteague High School Biology Department trapping
for SPB and checkered beetles (SPB predators) was conducted in early May. Data from that
program appeared to indicate that SPB activity would be low this season. The results from
this inspection appear to have confirmed this observation. However, beetle activity was
observed not from SPB but turpentine beetles. These beetles were documented active along
the Service Road and Woodland Trail. However, according to the forest pest entomologist,
turpentine beetles do not normally kill trees, except when they mass attack, which is
rare. Ground and aerial surveys will continue to be conducted throughout the late summer
and fall to detect any new beetle activity.
Irvin Ailes,
Refuge Biologist
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