Beetle/spruce – a horror story

For several years, Europe's forests have suffered unprecedented devastation caused by the typographical scolyte (Ips typographus), an insect capable of decimating thousands of hectares in a few seasons. By massively attacking the weakened spruces, this beetle bypasses their natural defences and causes their rapid decline. More than 100 million cubic metres of Norway spruce have already been destroyed since 2013. Now, this plague spreads in the U…

Beetle/spruce – a horror story

What’s going on here A beetle species which can cause life threatening damage to spruce trees, has been shown to be attracted to a populous spruce variety across the UK and Europe. Fears that the beetle may also be attracted to the Sitka spruce variety were, until recently, unproven. What does this mean? The European spruce bark beetle has been found in the UK, having already caused widespread devastation of the Norway spruce variety across Euro…