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Green-striped Forest Looper

Peter Koot

(His other articles are available at at essayelites.com.)

Introduction

The green-striped forest looper (Melanolophia imitata), a common defoliator of conifers in British Columbia, was not considered a destructive forest insect prior to 1960. In that year, top-kill and tree mortality of western hemlock and western red cedar occurred on the west coast of Vancouver Island north of Tofino. Since then, this pest has reached damaging infestation levels at several locations. In 1963 and 1964 heavy defoliation and tree mortality were encountered on the Queen Charlotte Islands on the east coast of Graham Island. In 1968 and 1969 a marked population increase along the northwest coast of Vancouver Island resulted in heavy defoliation of western hemlock along Neroutsos Inlet and at Victoria Lake. Scattered tree mortality occurred in localized pockets. The infestation collapsed in 1970 and no outbreaks have been recorded since.

For more information, see the Green-striped Forest Looper Forest Pest Leaflet in the Canadian Forest Service bookstore.