Beetle Facts

Beetle Biology

The Latin name for the mountain pine beetle is Dendroctonus ponderosae.
The life span of an individual mountain pine beetle is about one year.
Pine beetle larvae spend the winter under bark. They continue to feed in the spring and transform into pupae in June and July.
Adult mountain pine beetles emerge from an infested tree over the course of the summer and into early fall.
The mountain pine beetle transmits a fungus that stains a tree's sapwood blue.
Comprehensive testing has confirmed that the blue stain caused by the beetle has no effect on wood's strength properties.

Cold weather kills the mountain pine beetle. Mountain pine beetle eggs, pupae and young larve are the most susceptible to freezing temperatures.
In the winter, temperatures must consistently be below -35 Celsius or -40 Celsius for several straight days to kill off large portions of mountain pine beetle populations.
In the early fall or late spring, sustained temperatures of -25 Celsius can freeze mountain pine beetle populations to death.
A sudden cold snap is more lethal in the fall, before the mountain pine beetles are able to build up their natural anti-freeze (glycerol) levels.
Cold weather is also more effective before it snows. A deep layer of snow on the ground can help insulate mountain pine beetles in the lower part of the tree against outside temperatures.
Wind chill affects mountain pine beetles, but is usually not sustained long enough to significantly increase winter mortality.

About 8.7 million hectares were in red-attack stage in 2005 as a result of the mountain pine beetle.
The mountain pine beetle infestation will have economic implications in the future for 30 communities around the province.
25,000 families in British Columbia are having their livelihoods impacted by the beetle infestation.

The mountain pine beetle prefers mature timber. After 80 years, lodgepole pine trees are generally classed as being mature.
B.C. is believed to have three times more mature lodgepole pine than it did over 90 years ago, mainly because equipment and techniques for protecting forests against wildfire have greatly improved over time
Hot and dry summers leave pine drought-stressed and more susceptible to attack by the mountain pine beetle.

The start of the current mountain pine beetle infestation in B.C.'s central Interior can be traced back to 1993.
A hectare is considered infested if it contains more than 10 beetle-attacked trees.
Mountain pine beetle outbreaks develop regardless of property lines. They can appear in mountain subdivisions, backyards and municipal parks the same as in wilderness areas.
The mountain pine beetle in B.C. is as far-ranging as Fort St. John to the north; Cranbrook to the east; Houston to the west; and Manning Park, located between Hope and Princeton, to the south.
The direction and spread rate of a beetle infestation is impossible to predict exactly.
There are three stages in a mountain pine beetle attack: green, red and grey.
In addition to B.C. and Alberta, the mountain pine beetle can be found in 12 western American states, and even Mexico.