Expecting the mountain pine beetle
June 8, 2022
MITPPC-funded researchers are preparing for the impending arrival of a top threat to Minnesota’s trees.
For decades, the mountain pine beetle (MPB) has caused an unprecedented amount of forest mortality in western North America, tearing through pine stands from the Pacific Coast all the way to the Black Hills of South Dakota, and from central British Columbia and western Alberta to northern Baja California, Mexico. These black, pearlescent bark beetles destroy pine stands by mass attacking trees, carving extensive galleries beneath the bark. They also spread diseases through forests by carrying fungi and other pathogens with them from tree to tree. And one day soon, the pest could very well knock on Minnesota’s door. Read the full story by the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center.
