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RECENT OUTBREAK OF THE LARCH SAWFLY, PRISTIPHORA ERICHSONII (HARTIG), IN SUBARCTIC QUÉBEC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Conrad Cloutier
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4
Louise Filion
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4

Abstract

Larch sawfly oviposition activity as revealed by scarring of long shoots of eastern larch, Larix laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch, was measured at various locations in the high boreal forest and forest tundra in Québec in 1988 and 1989. The data show that larch sawfly is established up to the tree line, even on isolated larch growing under climatic conditions that are extreme for this tree. Frequency distributions of scarred shoots as a function of time suggest thai larch sawfly populations reached outbreak levels in the 1980s, with peak numbers in 1981 for the high boreal, and in 1985 for the subarctic regions sampled. Trends in long shoot production by larch trees started to fluctuate simultaneously with the sudden increase in larch sawfly populations along the Grande Rivière de la Baleine in 1984. In this region in 1985, the proportion of long shoots used by Pristiphora erichsonii averaged 20–35%, which may have limited further population increase. Although foliage reduction and branch mortality were observed, mortality of whole trees was not a general characteristic of this outbreak.

Résumé

L’activité de la tenthrède du mélèze, signalée par la présence de cicatrices de ponte sur les pousses longues du mélèze laricin, Larix laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch a été évaluée à plusieurs sites de la haute forêt boréale et de la toundra forestière du Québec en 1988 et 1989. Les données indiquent que la tenthrède du mélèze est établie jusqu’à la limite des arbres, même sur des mélèzes isolés poussant sous des conditions climatiques extrêmes pour cette espèce d’arbre. La fréquence des pousses scarifiées en fonction du temps indique que les populations régionales de la tenthrède ont atteint des niveaux épidémique s au cours des années 1980, ayant culminé vers 1981 pour la haute forêt boréale et 1985 pour les sites subarctiques échantillonnés. La production de pousses longues par le mélèze laricin a cessé de croître régulièrement lors de l’élévation soudaine de la population de tenthrède le long de la Grande Rivière de la Balcine en 1984. Dans ce secteur en 1985, la proportion des pousses longues scarifiées par Pristiphora erichsonii atteignait 20–35%, un niveau d’utilisation qui a possiblement limité la poursuite de l’augmentation de la population de tenthrède. Malgré que la réduction de l’ampleur du feuillage et la mort de branches aient été observées, la mortalité d’arbres entiers n’est pas apparue comme une caractéristique générale de cette épidémie de la tenthrède du mélèze.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1991

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