FREDERICTON – 5,000 Laricobius nigrinus beetles imported from British Columbia are ready to combat an invasive insect that is killing hemlock trees in Nova Scotia. Lucas Roscoe, research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service, said that in the fight against the invasive woolly adelgid that is destroying swaths of hemlock trees in Nova Scotia, the first step was to make sure the beetle — called Lari by scientists — could survive a Nova Scotia winter. They were released across six sites in Nova Scotia and Roscoe, along with other scientists, waited to see if the tiny black flying predators would live. …The scientists also visited the six sites this October, a year after the first releases, and found the beetles had reproduced, he said. …The next step for scientists is to evaluate whether the beetles have been able to destroy the woolly adelgid in the hemlock trees in those six sites, Roscoe said.