The Florida Forest Service says it has found Southern Pine beetles in high numbers in Calhoun County

The Florida Forest Service says it has found Southern Pine beetles in high numbers in Calhoun County and are starting an aerial survey to see what kind of damage might be occurring.

The southern pine beetle is condsidered one the southeasts most damaging insect species and periodic outbreaks in Florida have resulted in millions of cubic feet of pine timber killed on thousands of acres.

The last major outbreaks in Florida occurred from 1999 to 2002, resulting in an estimated $59 million in timber losses.

The Florida Forest Service puts out traps to see how many beetles are in the area and said this year traps distributed throughout Calhoun County have shown very high levels ofs outhern pine beetle activity, far more than any other county in the panhandle.

The Florida Forest Service say it takes the threat very seriously.

They are starting aerial reconnaissance of pine forests in the county this month, looking for groups of dead or dying trees that could be caused by Beetle infestation.

That will help landowners try to prevent further damage to their timber.

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