Mountain Pine Beetle

Mountain Pine Beetle Inspection Survey: The Town of Canmore will be conducting a comprehensive inspection survey for the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) from Monday December 4, 2006 to March 16, 2007.  View the Public Notice.

The lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) is the primary host for the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in Alberta. This insect has a native range extending from Mexico to central B.C. with an eastern extent near the B.C./Alberta border.

Periodic outbreaks of this insect occur in B.C. and the western U.S., however in Alberta, only two outbreaks of mountain pine beetle have occurred in recent history. The last infestation lasted from 1977-1985, killing over one million cubic metres of lodgepole pine.

In 1997 an infestation was discovered in Banff National Park. In 2002 the first pine beetles on Alberta provincial land were identified near the Grassi Lakes Trail in Canmore.

Subsequent surveys have identified beetle infestations near Grassi Lakes, the east end of the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, as well as scattered attacks from the Banff Park boundary to Stewart Creek Golf Course.

The mountain pine beetle is a small (5-7mm) black beetle. It bores through the bark to construct a vertical egg gallery parallel to the grain of the wood. When the larvae hatch they will feed on the phloem of the tree, girdling it, and affecting the tree's ability to transport nutrients.

The beetles carry blue-stain fungi from tree to tree. The fungi disrupts the flow of water within the tree. The blue-grey tint of the fungi is easily visible in cut logs. The combination of the fungi and larval feeding can kill a tree within one month of the initial attack.

As a defense mechanism, the tree will produce sap in an attempt to flush out the beetles. The sap extruded from the tree forms pitch tubes on the surface of the bark.

For more information about the mountain pine beetle in Alberta and Banff National Park visit Alberta Sustainable Resource Development or Banff National Park.

What You Can Do To Help

Here are some ways you can help save Alberta's forests from the Mountain Pine Beetle:

1. Avoid transporting firewood from one area to another, especially if the bark is still attached. Mountain Pine Beetle and Dutch Elm disease can be transported in firewood to Alberta;
2. Report suspicious pest findings in natural forested areas especially red trees to your nearest Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Land and Forest Division office;
3. Report any suspicious pest findings in community stands of trees or on private properties within the Town of Canmore's corporate limits to the Town of Canmore Parks Department;
4. Increase awareness about the Pine Beetle issues, especially in areas of known Mountain Pine Beetle infestations and periodically visit Alberta Sustainable Resource Development's Pest Alerts.
5. Learn to recognize signs of Mountain Pine Beetle.