Scale Insect Outbreak Withers Savannah's Scenic Live Oaks

[hatrack]

SAVANNAH, Ga. - "Moss-draped live oaks, which comprise the city's lush, green canopy, are being attacked by tiny insects that are turning the trees' leaves a sickly brown.

City officials noticed the Kermes scale outbreak about four weeks ago, and the suspected culprit is the city's battle against mosquitos. Heavy aerial spraying last year, in response to the West Nile virus (news - web sites) scare, killed off small, parasitic wasps that normally feed on the insects.

"These scale have always been around, but it's more of an epidemic this year," said Savannah Park and Tree Director David White. "I've never heard of it being this bad." Kermes scale typically spend their entire life on an oak and limit their feeding to upper branch tips, but in some areas of the city, they have infested large portions of the oaks.

Such outbreaks rarely kill mature live oaks, though they do stunt tree growth and make branches weak. Saplings are the most susceptible to death."

EDIT

[Hoping4Change]

1. This reminds of a story the other day the BBC ran about

incests called Stink Bugs invading England due to climate changes. It is more scientists said of globalwarming.

[lanparty]

2. Don't mess with mother nature ...

She'll whoop your ass worse than Barbara whooped Dubaya.

Seriously though, they should think about working WITH nature instead of dumping chemicals on it. They could promote more bird and bat habitat to fight mosquitos.

The other big method is to eliminate areas of standing water that don't have populations of larvae eaters (fish, frogs, etc...)