50 Nova Scotians help track spruce budworm

The spruce budworm is one of the most destructive insect pests in eastern North America and there's concern it's making its way to Nova Scotia.

There's an outbreak of it in Quebec and it's heading south, and into Eastern Canada. The bugs are already in northern New Brunswick.

The spruce budworm defoliates trees and after about four or five years of doing this, it can kill them. Spruce budworm is particularly dangerous for balsam fir and spruce tree species, which are both key parts of the Acadian forest.

"We haven't seen any severe defoliation in Nova Scotia yet, but we did see a small peak in traps in Truro," said Emily Owens, a biologist with Natural Resources Canada.

When the spruce budworm is in the caterpillar stage, it eats and defoliates trees. At the moth stage, it lays eggs and causes the population to rise and spread.

To get a better understanding of the spruce budworm, about 400 people from Eastern Canada and Maine are engaged in a citizen science program that is collecting samples of moths from traps they are given.

50 people helping out in Nova Scotia

"Citizens are helping us monitor a large area we couldn't otherwise monitor ourselves," said Owens.

In Nova Scotia, about 50 people are taking part, including Monica Schuegraf, who lives in Pineville, Antigonish County.

A biologist by trade, she has been involved in citizen science projects, both as a researcher and participant.

"People love being involved in science, especially people who don't necessarily know much about it. They like learning about it," she said.

Schuegraf's two young boys have helped her collect data. She says they were interested in the project initially, but lost it when the moth numbers weren't large. These days, Schuegraf says their interest level is synched with the number of moths found in the traps.

The green traps are about the size of a basketball and use pheromones to attract male moths. Citizens report on a weekly basis (or more) about the numbers they find and place them in a collection bag, which is then frozen. At the end of the year, the samples are shipped off for researchers to study further.

Project happens in summer months

This is the second year for the project, which runs between the months of June and August.

Dave Taylor owns a 21-acre woodlot in Middle Musquodoboit and is participating in the project.

"My concern is that folks who aren't directly connected to their environment and to the forests would look at it and think, 'It's a one-shot deal, it's no biggie, it's just a bunch of trees.' The reality is it will have an impact on pretty much every household in the province," he said.