On comfortable beds of wood shavings inside multiple boxes, 3,600 Laricobius nigrinus beetles made overnight journeys last month from the forests of British Columbia all the way to southwestern Nova Scotia.

The Lari, as the beetles are affectionately nicknamed by some scientists who study them, were imported to help protect hemlocks from the woolly adelgid, an invasive species that came from Japan.

害羞草研究所淭he idea is that this first year is a kind of a pilot project to see if this insect will survive Nova Scotia害羞草研究所檚 winters,害羞草研究所� said Lucas Roscoe, research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service.

害羞草研究所淎s the project develops, we害羞草研究所檒l be monitoring the beetle on the landscape and looking for it and seeing if it害羞草研究所檚 tracking these hemlock woolly adelgid populations across the landscape.害羞草研究所�

The woolly adelgid, about the size of a peppercorn, was first seen in southwestern Nova Scotia in 2017 and has since spread northward, he said.

After landing on a tree, it settles in one spot for most of its life and begins 害羞草研究所渓iterally sucking the life out害羞草研究所� of the tree after piercing the bark, Roscoe said. It gets its name from the white, woolly layer it develops. 害羞草研究所淎nd it害羞草研究所檚 within this kind of woolly ball that it lays its eggs, and then the eggs hatch, and then they spread,害羞草研究所� he said.

Aided by milder winters on the East Coast, the woolly adelgid seems to have adapted to the area, and spread to large swaths of hemlocks. If left to spread unchecked, Roscoe said the insect would wipe out 90 per cent of hemlocks in Nova Scotia. The pest has also been seen in parts of Ontario.

害羞草研究所淓ntire stands can be damaged quite severely by the hemlock woolly adelgid,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 areas where there害羞草研究所檚 a lot of hemlock trees and you害羞草研究所檙e seeing most of the stand damaged or dead.害羞草研究所�

The woolly adelgid is transferred from one tree to another by wind, birds, animals or even humans, he added. 害羞草研究所淭hey can land on your shirt, you won害羞草研究所檛 even know. You害羞草研究所檒l go for a walk and move it.害羞草研究所�

Enter the beetle.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 like a ladybug, but it害羞草研究所檚 very small 害羞草研究所� one to two millimetres in length,害羞草研究所� Roscoe said, describing the predator. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 just a little black beetle, but they just love eating hemlock woolly adelgid.害羞草研究所�

He took part in the release of some beetles over the past month in Nova Scotia. 害羞草研究所淚 watched the beetles leave the cup and immediately start eating hemlock woolly adelgid,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淭hey crawled right up, and they just stuck their head right into one and just started eating it.害羞草研究所�

Gwylim Blackburn, a research scientist at the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, said foresters in British Columbia tapped on hemlock branches to knock off the beetles and collect them in nets for shipment to Nova Scotia. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e actually quite easy to miss, until you have a trained eye,害羞草研究所� he said.

While it is the first time this kind of biocontrol has been used on Canadian hemlocks, he said the beetles have been used to control woolly adelgid in the United States for about 20 years.

Research on the woolly adelgid was pioneered by a Canadian scientist in the 1980s and the beetles害羞草研究所� effectiveness has since been shown to have concrete results, Blackburn said. Current research, including introduction of the beetles in Nova Scotia, has brought together different branches of governments and Indigenous communities and is drawing lessons from the United States, he added.

Chemical treatments have also been used to kill the woolly adelgid but they have proven expensive. 害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e very work-intensive and of course can only be conducted on individual trees with great worker investment,害羞草研究所� Blackburn said. 害羞草研究所淲hat we need here for a pest spreading across a landscape is a landscape-scale solution.害羞草研究所�

Roscoe said the Nova Scotia project will cost about $72,000, which includes shipping the beetles from B.C. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 definitely quite a good investment if we害羞草研究所檙e going to save hemlock,害羞草研究所� he said.

Blackburn said that when the beetle was first introduced in eastern United States about 20 years ago, scientists were concerned it might become an invasive species itself. But long-term monitoring has shown the beetle doesn害羞草研究所檛 have what scientists refer to as 害羞草研究所渙ff-target effects害羞草研究所� and it only attacks the woolly adelgids on hemlocks, he noted.

Hemlocks are a keystone species, meaning large populations depend on these trees, Roscoe said.

害羞草研究所淭hey can grow in areas that not very many other trees can grow in and thrive in places like river valleys, or streams, alongside lakes and ponds,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a lot of other species like insects, other plants and birds, small mammals that need hemlock in order to survive themselves. Removing hemlock from these areas where it害羞草研究所檚 the majority constituent would lead to a complete ecological collapse in these areas. So, basically, kind of a biodiversity desert.害羞草研究所�

The main task for scientists now is to monitor how the beetle fares over the frigid and sustained Nova Scotia winter.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 tough to say right now,害羞草研究所� Roscoe said. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e going to check on them 害羞草研究所� probably February, March 害羞草研究所� and we害羞草研究所檙e going to see.害羞草研究所�

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