They have catchy names like book printers or copper engravers – but the pests feel particularly at home this year and are therefore a real problem for the Styrian forest rangers.
Franz Hofstätter is currently well served: in most years he has had no bark beetle infestation in his seven hectares of forest, otherwise ten, at most 20 affected trees. “But this year there are already 250”, says the Jagerberger. A tragedy in more ways than one: “Because it is immense, unplanned work that must be demolished as quickly as possible. Because many trees were not yet ‘mature’ to be cut down. And because there is so much damaged wood, it makes a difference whether you can earn 80 or 180 euros per tree.”
Especially this year the bark beetle is a big problem for many Styrian forest rangers. “This is due to the heat and drought,” says Josef Krogger, forestry expert at the Agricultural Chamber. “This speeds up development, so there are even more generations.”
Trees weakened by drought
But how could such a tiny thing the size of a millimeter bring down a mighty spruce? Can’t you just remove the bark under which the “hatchery” is located? Krogger: “No, because this is exactly where the water veins of the tree are. And they are destroyed by the bark beetle, so the tree dies.” And it has already been weakened by the drought this year.
Of course, nature has arranged it so that it can defend itself by pouring resin. Krogger: “But you can’t do that against the superiority of millions of beetles.” And there are natural enemies. But the ant beetle, for example, only eats one beetle per day. Even people can’t do much preventively. “There are sprays, but they should reach the entire bark. This is usually not possible with spruces up to 30 meters high, not even from the air”.
Do past mistakes take revenge?
But help is coming from above to detect infected trees in the first place: “More and more drones are being used, which can see from the needles whether the tree is still healthy. Then you can at least react quickly and drop it; because that is the only solution.” Also dogs are specially trained for trees infected with bark beetles Pheromone traps only provide information about the swarming, “unfortunately they don’t work like a mousetrap”.
There is also often the opinion that the problem is self-made, because so many spruce trees have been planted everywhere in recent decades. Krogger: “That’s a controversial debate. In any case, it would be a matter of being wiser in hindsight.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
