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The major factors affecting the health of Ontario’s forests include forest insects, disease and weather conditions, such as drought.
INVASIVE SPECIES
Asian long-horned beetle
What to look for:
Leaf damage
Adults feed on the leaves and on the bark of young branches, causing considerable damage. The adults begin emerging in May and populations peak in early July. They are active until October. Egg-laying sites: Oval to round chewed wounds in the bark indicate egg-laying, or oviposition sites, where females chew a place to lay their eggs. These may be on branches, trunk or root flare.
Egg-laying sites
Oval to round chewed wounds in the bark indicate egg-laying, or oviposition sites, where females chew a place to lay their eggs. These may be on branches, trunk or root flare.
Froth or oozing sap
Frothy or leaking sap caused by egg-laying (oviposition) sites often attracts bees, wasps, yellow jackets or butterflies.
Exit holes
Large round holes caused by emerging adults can occur anywhere on the tree, including branches, trunk and exposed roots.
Sawdust
Pine shoot beetle
What to look for:
Eggs, larvae or puae located under the bank of stumps, slash, cut trees or on the main stems of stressed trees. Shoot damage is highest in the upper crown and the least in the lower crown of the tree.
Wilted, drooping, yellowing or fallen shoots
Pin head sized (2mm) exit holes and boring evidence on the main stems of the trees.
Adult beetles inside the shoots
Shoots with resin encrusted borer holes.
Characteristic brood galleries under the bark
Shoots with the pith cleanly bored out.
Emerald ash borer
What to look for:
Tunnels
Tunnels are oriented vertically, shallow, meander under the bark with abrupt turns and are packed with frass (sawdust-like waste). Total length of the tunnels may be 50cm. Galleries are exposed 1-2 years after tree death as bark sloughs off.
Bark cracks
Vertical splits in the bark over larval galleries are often present and are usually 7-10 cm long. The cracks are more noticeable on young or pole-sized trees than on older trees with thick bark where close inspection is required to distinguish the bark splits from normal expansion caused by vigorous growth. Removing the bark will expose the galleries and larvae, if present.
Exit holes
Once fully mature, the adult beetle will emerge through an exit hole it has chewed through the bark. These exit holes are distinctly D-shaped and measure 3.5-4.1 mm across. Exit holes may be found anywhere on the tree trunk, root flare, exposed roots or in the crown. Sawdust may be visible in the exit hole or on the bark just outside it, especially in June and July.
Non-emerged adults
Dead adults are sometimes found in exit holes where the beetle was unable to fully emerge. Frequently, the head of these beetles is absent, leaving behind a hollow exoskeleton, suggesting the beetle was killed by another insect.
Trees
Severely attacked trees may exhibit crown dieback from the top down in the first year of infestation. Often, one-third to one-half of the branches die in one year and the entire tree dies the following year. Foliage may wilt or turn yellow during the growing season. New, or epicormic, branches are common on the trunk of dying trees and dense root sprouts are often present at the base of dead trees or around stumps of cut trees.
Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are very good at finding larvae under the bark. Look for increased woodpecker feeding activity in the trees or for signs of their probing of the bark.
INSECTS AND DISEASE
Jack Pine Budworm
Jack Pine Budworm, (Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman) a native insect, is a needle feeding caterpillar that is generally considered the most significant pest of jack pine. The budworm larvae cause widespread defoliation, growth loss, top kill and tree mortality.
COMMON PESTS OF TREES IN ONTARIO
Insect Pests According to Type of Injury
Defoliators
Apple-and-thorn skeletonizer
Birch leafminer
Birch skeletonizer
Black vine weevil
Cankerworms
Cedar (arborvitae) leafminers
Eastern tent caterpillar
Elm leaf beetle
Euonymus webworm
European pine sawfly
European spruce sawfly
Fall webworm
Forest tent caterpillar
Gypsy moth
Imported willow leaf beetle
Jack pine budworm
June beetles
Juniper webworm
Larch casebearer
Larch sawfly
Lilac leafminer
Linden looper
Locust leafminer
Maple leafcutter
Maple trumpet skeletonizer
Mockorange leafminer
Mountain ash sawfly
Oak leafshredder
Oak skeletonizer
Pear sawfly
Poplar sawfly
Redheaded pine sawfly
Rose chafer
Saddled prominent
Spiny elm caterpillar
Spruce budworm
Spruce needleminer
Walnut caterpillar
Whitemarked tussock moth
Yellowheaded spruce sawfly
Yellownecked caterpillar
Sucking Insects
Boxelder bug
Comstock mealybug
Cottony maple scale
Euonymus scale
European fruit lecanium
Giant bark aphid
Juniper scale
Norway maple aphid
Oak lace bug
Oystershell scale
Pine bark adelgid
Pine needle scale
Pine spittlebug
Pine tortoise scale
Spruce bud scale
Spruce spider mite
Woolly alder aphid
Borers
Boxelder twig borer
Bronze birch borer
Eastern pine shoot borer
Elm bark beetles
European pine shoot moth
Lesser peachtree borer
Lilac borer
Locust borer
Locust twig borer
Northern pine weevil
Pales weevil
Peachtree borer
Pine engraver
Pine root collar weevil
Poplar-and-willow borer
Twig pruner
White pine weevil
Zimmerman pine moth
Gall-Makers
Ash flower gall
Cooley spruce gall adelgid (aphid)
Eastern spruce gall adelgid (aphid)
Honeylocust pod gall
Maple gall mites
Oak galls
Pearleaf blister mite
Poplar petiolegall aphid
Poplar vagabond aphid
Root Feeders
Black vine weevil
White grubs
Diseases According to Location of Injury
Foliage
Anthracnose
Apple scab
Boxelder leaf blight
Catalpa leafspot
Diplodia tip blight
Hawthorn leaf blight
Horse-Chestnut leaf blotch
Powdery mildew
Winter browning
Yellow leaf blotch
Stem or Branch
Black knot
Crown gall Dieback of hardwoods
Dutch elm disease
European poplar canker
Fire blight
Hypoxylon canker
Juniper blight
Juniper rusts
Nectria canker
Scleroderris canker
Spruce canker Sweetfern blister rust
Verticillium wilt
White pine blister rust
Root
Armillaria root rot
Annosum root rot
Species at Risk in Ontario List
Date Issued: December 16, 2005
Issued by: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Species at Risk Unit
The following is a list of official status designations assigned to 182 native Ontario species by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). These status designations apply at the provincial level, and are used in the application of Ontario's legislation and policies for the protection of species at risk and their habitat.
Ontario status designations are the product of complementary review and assessment processes implemented at national and provincial levels. The national assessment process takes place under the auspices of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), and Ontario has been an active participant on COSEWIC since its inception in 1978. The provincial review process is implemented by the OMNR's Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO), which includes non-OMNR membership. The purpose of this committee is to ensure a uniform, science-based, defensible approach to provincial status evaluations conducted for Ontario species.
The designations assigned to species on the following list are, in most cases, in agreement with those assigned to the species by COSEWIC. However, OMNR has assigned certain species a status designation that differs from the national designation. For example, species whose Ontario status is of greater concern than the status elsewhere in Canada have been assigned a higher designation by OMNR. On the attached list, any exceptions to the national designation are marked with an asterisk (*), and explanatory notes are provided on the last page.
OMNR may independently decide to review and assign status to certain species that are of special interest to the province. Species or populations that have been evaluated and assigned status by the province, but not by COSEWIC, are referenced by a letter (P) (for “provincially-designated only”) after the status code.
Species at risk in Ontario are protected under the provisions of several legislative and policy tools. Species listed in regulation under the province's Endangered Species Act (ESA) are afforded legal protection under the Act and are referenced on this list as “END-R”. All species on this list in the status categories Endangered-Regulated (END-R), Endangered-Not Regulated (END) and Threatened (THR) are afforded habitat protection under the Provincial Policy Statement of the Planning Act. Many species at risk are also listed as Specially Protected Wildlife in schedules under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. Those species listed as END-R, END or THR are recognized as provincially Featured Species in Ontario's forest management planning process. As well, the federal Species at Risk Act provides protection to most of these species, the federal Fisheries Act provides protection to all fish habitat, and the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act provides protection to most species of migratory birds.
Species may be added to this Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) list or, for a species already on the list, the status designation may change. To incorporate these changes, the SARO list will be updated annually by the MNR. Proposed additions or changes to the SARO list are posted on the Environmental Registry for public review and comment. Common and scientific names of species listed on the SARO list generally match those used on the national COSEWIC list.
OMNR STATUS
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DEFINITION
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EXT
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Extinct
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A species that no longer exists anywhere.
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EXP
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Extirpated
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A species that no longer exists in the wild in Ontario but still occurs elsewhere.
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END-R
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Endangered
(Regulated)
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A species facing imminent extinction or extirpation in Ontario which has been regulated under Ontario's Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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END
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Endangered
(Not Regulated)
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A species facing imminent extinction or extirpation in Ontario which is a candidate for regulation under Ontario's ESA.
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THR
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Threatened
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A species that is at risk of becoming endangered in Ontario if limiting factors are not reversed.
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SC
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Special Concern
(formerly Vulnerable)
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A species with characteristics that make it sensitive to human activities or natural events.
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NAR
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Not at Risk
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A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk.
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DD
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Data Deficient
(formerly Indeterminate)
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A species for which there is insufficient information for a provincial status recommendation.
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Key:* indicates provincial status differs from COSEWIC national status P provincially-designated only (species/population found in Ontario not designated by COSEWIC)
Information courtesy of:
Species at Risk Unit
Biodiversity Section
Fish and Wildlife Branch
Ministry of Natural Resources
300 Water Street
Peterborough, ON
K9J 8M5
Phone: 705-755-1838
Fax: 705-755-1788
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Copyright © by Coldwater & Area Conservation Club All Right Reserved. Published on: 2006-06-10 (1429 reads) [ Go Back ]
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