©Chateau Lake Louise

Visitors to Banff’s golden larches may instead see barren trees and browned needles, because of a severe insect outbreak that’s hit a large swath of the national park’s popular fall attraction. Parks Canada says a larch needleworm outbreak has left nearly 2,900 hectares in Banff National Park “severely defoliated,” with more than 70 per cent of their needles damaged. Needleworm caterpillars feed on the pine needles and then bind them with silk-like webbing, says Jakub Olesinski, a forest health specialist with Parks Canada. “When they feed, larch trees can lose significant amounts of their needles. And the appearance on the trees can look pretty dramatic,” he says. The larch needles turn brown, and can fall off early, leaving some trees completely bare before the fall larch viewing season even begins. The main outbreak area ranges from Sunshine Village near the Banff townsite up to the Lake Louise region.