An unusually mosquito-free summer in Anchorage, Alaska, despite wet conditions, has prompted discussions among local observers and experts, with no clear correlation found between weather patterns and mosquito activity. Although the numbers and timing are locally influenced, similar observations were shared from Fairbanks and Chistochina.
Foam or saliva-looking substance on seen on flowering plants like fireweed and yarrow.
For property owners, the beetles present a vexing scenario, as some scramble to keep their trees alive while others mourn the loss and embark on the oftentimes costly removal process.
"We had never before observed a species of the order Diptera, aside from the mosquitos present every year. Around the middle of September this year, however, there was a large influx of houseflies into our home."
Ants carrying white rice like objects out of their nest.
Red currant leaf consumption by something was observed by my supervisor while walking along a salmon stream.
"I am seeing spittlebugs deposits everywhere I look in the Sand Lake area."
We are seeing these little flies every outdoors. I don’t recall them like this in the past.
A lot of people are complaining about the wasps this year. They are actually very beneficial insects in some ways. These are very beneficial insects. They gather other insects to feed their larvae and thus control aphid populations, take out delphinium defoliators and other leaf rollers.
Browning on birch leaves before time for the fall season transition.
"The spruce bark beetle epidemic currently ravaging Southcentral AK's spruce trees is well-known, but I haven't heard mention of other pests occurring in conjunction."
Unfamiliar insect found near Potters Marsh, identified as a red velvet mite (family Trombidiidae).
The worst-hit areas appear to be established neighborhoods with older spruce trees, especially in Turnagain and Spenard.
The closures of the campgrounds, facing the threat of falling trees, likely will last through summer, the state parks division said.
Spruce beetles damaged nearly 600,000 acres of forest in 2018, and the damage continues to grow.
The latest tally of beetle kill shows more than 550,000 acres of forest with dead spruce from the ongoing infestation this year alone, much of it in Mat-Su.
Fewer wasp and mosquito interactions in Anchorage in 2018 than typical.
Fireweed Clearwing Moth (Albuna pyramidalis) found in south Anchorage.
Dead, red trees signal an increasingly dire outbreak driven by warm summers and plentiful spruce, especially in the Susitna Valley.
Horntail wood wasp (family Siricidae), attracted by fire damaged wood, observed a year after the McHugh fire along the Seward Highway.
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