In Finland, insects are destroying boreal forests further north

They threaten the earth’s precious boreal forests, like the Amazon rainforest. Bark beetles, small brown insects, are destroying conifers further north in Finland due to global warming. They attack Picea abies, one of the most common tree species in Finland, slowly destroying entire forests.

Pieces of their bark peel off, twigs fall from dead branches…

“These insects have wreaked havoc across Central and Eastern Europe, especially since 2018”, Markus Melin, a scientist at the Natural Resources Institute in Finland, told AFP. There is a risk of this epidemic spreading “Too Much Now” Because of global warming, he says. “We have to accept it and adapt. Things change very quickly.”

The trees are already weakened by the high heat

“It’s a well-known phenomenon: Cone bark beetles are among the species most likely to benefit from the spread of global warming.”Marcus Melin continues.

These beetles pick on trees that are already weakened by hot summers and lack of water. The very warm winters and lack of frozen ground make it difficult to protect trees from storms.

Global warming also accelerates the life cycle of bark beetles. “Their mortality rate drops and they reproduce much faster.”, laments Marcus Melin. If they first select weak trees, bark beetles attack healthy trees as they grow in large numbers.