• Gardiner, L.M.
  Forest Entomology & Pathology Branch, Department of Forestry, Canada
  
• Prielipp, D.O.
  Forest Entomology & Pathology Branch, Department of Forestry, Canada
  

Since 1920, when Swaine and Craighead (1924) made the first aerial survey of defoliation by the spruce budworm, aircraft have had considerable use in forest insect survey work in North America. The original flights which were made in a Type H. S. 2 L. Curtiss flying boat, showed that it was possible to ascertain the boundaries of forest types and areas of defoliation from the air. It was estimated that the first few days of preliminary aerials survey yielded more information than could have been obtained by a survey party working hard for six months on the ground. With such results, it is not surprising that the process of refinement of this was very useful survey method  began immediately. The next year, 1921, Swaine and Craighead took to the air again with the purpose of mapping spruce budworm infestations in northeastern Ontario and western Quebec.