Elm Bark Beetle
Native Elm Bark Beetle |
What is a native elm bark beetle?The native elm bark beetle is an insect that carries the fungus that causes Dutch Elm Disease in American elm trees in Winnipeg. |
European Elm Bark Beetle |
What does the elm bark beetle look like?The adult beetle is small and cylindrical. The length of the beetle measures 2 to 3.5 millimetres. It is brownish black in colour and has short hairs over its body. |
Banded Elm Bark Beetle Photos by Guy Hanley under license CC BY 3.0 |
What is the life cycle of the beetle?The beetle has one generation per year in Winnipeg. Most of the population spends the winter as an adult at the base of healthy elm trees. Adults emerge in the spring to feed on healthy elms and then fly to dead or dying trees to lay their eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae. By the fall, the larvae develop into adults and emerge. If the dead or dying tree has Dutch Elm Disease the beetle carries the fungus to a healthy tree and infects the healthy tree. |
Helping your trees
Keep your trees healthy by watering and fertilizing. Prune dead or dying branches immediately. You can control the native elm bark beetle by contracting with tree care companies to spray chlorpyrifos on the lower 50 centimetres of your elm trees.
For further information visit the Urban Forestry Web Page.