Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (Tetropium fuscum)

The brown spruce longhorn beetle (BSLB) is an exotic pest of quarantine significance which kills spruce trees. Native to northern and central Europe, BSLB is a direct threat to the forests of North America and a threat to trade in Canadian forest commodities.

BSLB most likely arrived in wood packing material unloaded at the Port of Halifax adjacent to Point Pleasant Park. It was first identified by Canadian Forest Service (CFS) scientists in 1999 in Point Pleasant Park, in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), Nova Scotia. Through extensive surveys, BSLB has been found in 6 counties in central Nova Scotia. This is the only known infestation of BSLB in North America.

Once the identification of BSLB was confirmed by Canadian and international experts, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) immediately began working with its stakeholders to develop common and attainable goals to slow the beetle's spread. The CFIA established a multiple agency task force, drawing members from federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as industry stakeholders and community partners, to provide the Agency with science-based recommendations on how to effectively monitor and control the progress and minimize the economic impacts of BSLB. Subcommittees have been created to examine specialized areas such as science and surveillance.

To help prevent the spread of this pest a Ministerial Order, The Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle Infested Places Order, was issued in October 2000. The order has been revised twice as science has advanced and provided better tools to detect and manage this pest; the first revision was made July 2001, the second, May 2007. The order restricts the movement of spruce round logs, unprocessed bark and wood chips, out of the containment area so as to prevent the spread of BSLB to areas in Canada not infested by the beetle.

Under the 2007 BSLB Risk Mitigation Program, facilities are required to develop site specific plans which will be reviewed and approved by the CFIA.

The CFIA continues to work with all levels of government, industry stakeholders and community partners to monitor and control the spread of BSLB. Survey traps have been set outside the containment area, and throughout the Atlantic provinces and Quebec to monitor the movement of the beetle. Data from the 2008 survey and the results of scientific research will be examined to determine what actions must be taken to further slow the spread of BSLB.

General Inquiries:

Nova Scotia: 1-877-868-0662
Other provinces: please contact your nearest CFIA Office