Chris MacQuarrie

New research being conducted by a Canadian federal agency aims to shed light on how an invasive species discovered in Thunder Bay in 2016 will stand up to harsh winters… The emerald ash borer was first spotted in the city about two and a half years ago. The destructive pest kills ash trees… threatening widespread damage to urban canopies. Combating the beetle is a costly endeavour but scientists with Natural Resources Canada are investigating whether temperatures below –30 C can kill the insect or slow down its spread. That type of information could be useful in predicting how the emerald ash borer will behave come spring. Some ash borers “go through the winter as a larva, which means that in the spring, they’re going to wake up and keep feeding underneath the bark of the trees,” said Chris MacQuarrie, a research scientist with Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian forest service. …But …MacQuarrie doesn’t believe winter will wipe out the insect.