Forest Insects Articles

Thanks to the effort and imagination of Dick Fox, I am pleased to have this collection of papers made available to forest landowners and other people with a broad interest in forest health.
These articles cover a range of topics, some general and others fairly specific. My purpose has been to touch on items that I sense are of current interest, to use the FOREST OWNER column as an opportunity for alerting New York forest owners of potential problems and, at times, to do nothing more than try and make a forest owner's walk through the woods a bit more interesting. In regard to the latter, I think it important for forest owners to appreciate that insects play many beneficial roles in forest communities and to realize that all insects which feed on trees are not necessarily "pests."
In order to be a good steward one must understand the biological components of a forest. Insects are but one of the diverse groups of organisms that interact to determine the character of a woodlot. Unfortunately, on occasion they compete with humans for resources of mutual interest. This is the point at which they are no longer mere curiosities but become pests. The best control measure is prevention. If we understand an insect and the manner in which it interacts with the forest well enough, we often are able to adjust our forest management activities accordingly. I hope these articles will stimulate readers to learn more about the entomological aspects of forest health.