INSECT DESTRUCTION OF FIRE-KILLED TIMBER IN 

 THE BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA * 



, By P. L. BuTTERiCK. 



This paper attempts to outline the results of the work of in- 

 sects following forest fires in the Black Hills of South Dakota; 

 and to suggest remedies for their depredations. It is the result 

 of casual observations of the writer, made while Forest Assistant 

 on the Black Hills National Forest in 191 1, and later as Forester 

 for the Lanphere-Hinrich Company, a lumber company operating 

 in the Black Hills. The observations do not pretend to approach 

 completeness ; but may be of some value in the absence of more 

 definite data. 



Character of the Forest in the Black Hills. Western Yellow 

 Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is the predominant tree. It occurs pure 

 over large areas, being the only commercial tree found. The 

 forest tends to be even-aged in groups, but many stands are all- 

 aged or roughly two-storied. The Government manages its hold- 

 ings by a rough application of the shelter-wood system, the in- 

 tention being to come back in twenty to thirty years for the 

 second cut. 



Enemies of the Yellow Pine. Forests in the Hills have suf- 

 fered excessively from insects and fire. The chief insect enemy, 

 the Black Hills Beetle is too well known to require description. 

 Its depredations have now been controlled by natural agencies, 

 and by cutting large bodies of infested timber. A close watch is 

 now kept by the Forest Officers for all signs of beetle infestation, 

 and all infested trees are at once cut and the bark destroyed. 



A leaf scale, probably Chionaspis pinifoliae, occurs, chiefly on 

 seedlings and saplings. Its attacks are sometimes fatal. How- 

 ever, so long as it is not more abundant it need not be regarded 

 as dangerous ; perhaps it is slightly beneficial, since it usually 

 occurs in dense overstocked thickets of young growth, where a 

 thinning is badly needed. 



The dry climate and the character of the forest operate to ren- 



* Reprinted, with permission, from Journal of Economic Entomology, 

 Vol. V, No. 6. 



