Mountain pine beetle facts for kids

A grown-up mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae)

The mountain pine beetle (scientific name: Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a tiny insect that lives in the forests of western Canada and the United States. It's known as a pest because it can harm pine trees.

These beetles eat the soft, inner part of a pine tree's bark, called the inner bark. They dig tunnels under the bark to lay their eggs. Usually, mountain pine beetles prefer to attack trees that are already weak, old, or sick. These trees can't fight off the beetles easily.

But sometimes, there are so many beetles that they team up and attack healthy trees in huge numbers. When this happens, it's called an outbreak. These big outbreaks can kill entire forests! This is why it's very important to keep an eye on the mountain pine beetle, especially for the forest industry in Canada and the U.S.

Recent Outbreaks and Spread

Recently, a very large outbreak of the mountain pine beetle happened in British Columbia, a province in Canada. Millions of trees were killed across the area.

This beetle usually can't survive in very cold places. But because of global warming, the weather has become warmer, even high up in the Canadian Rockies. This warmer weather has made it easier for the beetles to live and spread.

Because of this, the mountain pine beetle was able to move into Alberta, another part of Canada, where it had never been seen before. Scientists are worried that there might be nothing to stop the beetle from spreading even further across the whole continent.

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  A close-up of an adult mountain pine beetle

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  Tunnels made by mountain pine beetles under the bark, where they lay their eggs

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  Pine trees that have turned "red" after being attacked by mountain pine beetles in British Columbia

Tunnels (egg gallery) made by the mountain pine beetle

Pine trees turning "red" and dying from a mountain pine beetle attack

Images for kids

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  A lodgepole pine tree with a pitch tube, which is the tree's way of trying to push out the beetle

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  A lodgepole pine tree attacked by the mountain pine beetle, showing visible pitch tubes

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  A forest of pine trees attacked by beetles on the slopes of Chancellor Peak in Yoho National Park, Canada

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  A pine tree forest near Breckenridge, CO showing beetle damage in 2008

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  Damage from the pine beetle in E. C. Manning Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada, in August 2010

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  Damage from the mountain pine beetle in Rocky Mountain National Park in January 2012

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  Damage from the mountain pine beetle at Hume Lake, California in April 2016

See also

In Spanish: Escarabajo del pino de montaña para niños