If global emissions continue unchecked, rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns could amplify tree pests and diseases across more than 80 per cent of North American forests within decades, jeopardizing critical carbon sinks, air quality and the forestry economy.

This is the key finding of a new UBC-led study published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution. The researchers found that insects pose the more immediate threat, with more than 60 per cent of the areas examined projected to experience 30 per cent more insect pressure by mid-century. Species like the spongy moth, already wreaking havoc in Canadian forests, could expand significantly in eastern North America by mid-century.

The consequences of wind damage, however, continue long after the storm has passed. A large-scale study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland analysing more than 70,000 wind-damaged areas found that those forests remain vulnerable and may be affected by subsequent bark beetle or snow damage in the years to follow, depending on forest structure, climate, topography and species composition.

Honey bees have long been the model species for studying insect vision. However, new research from Lund University shows that several smaller bee species might actually have sharper eyesight.