Christmas tree pests and weeds of different pests, most of which cause cosmetic damage to the trees, important in the Christmas tree industry. The balsam woolly adelgid ("Adelges picae") are small soft-bodied insects which attack the Fraser fir. The insects appear as white, woolly spots on the tree and are fatal to the fir if left untreated. The woolly adeligid was native to central Europe where it affected the silver fir; it was introduced to the United States, where it has no known native predators, before 1900. Balsam twig aphids ("Mindarus abietnus") are another type of tree pest which affects fir and spruce trees in
Douglas E. Noble of the 2017 American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Chapter Presidential Honor as educator of the year. Noble completed a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and both a Master of Architecture and Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. His doctoral dissertation built on the work of Horst Rittel by creating a computer supported Issue-based information system. Noble taught for a few years at UC Berkeley and then joined the faculty of the USC School of Architecture in 1991. Noble has taught at USC since 1991, focusing on