Journeys & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes

Skip over navigation Mountains: Focus Tatshenshini Forests: Focus Northeastern British Columbia - Cold Forest Forests: Focus Cariboo-Chilcotin - Dry Forest Forests: Focus Central Coast - Wet Forest Grasslands: Focus Southern Okanagan Waters: Focus Southeastern Valleys - Fresh Waters Waters: Focus Vancouver Island's West Coast - Coastal Waters Cities: Focus Vancouver and Victoria Mountains Forests Grasslands Waters Cities

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NATURE

· Fire Forests

FIRST PEOPLES

· First Nations Basketry from the Dry Forests

HISTORY

· Revealing the Cariboo-Chilcotin

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FOCUS Cariboo-Chilcotin -- Dry Forest

Fire Forests

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Mountain Pine Beetle

Electron microscope picture of adult Mountain Pine Beetle. Canadian Forest Service.




		Mountain Pine Beetle The Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is an insect less than a centimetre long that lives most of its life under the bark of pine trees, including Lodgepole, Ponderosa and Western White pines. The beetle is native to western North America where it has been munching pines for millions of years. Normally it plays an important role in the life of a forest, attacking old or weakened trees and encouraging the development of new forests. But fire suppression has promoted the survival of forests full of old Lodgepole Pines and unusually warm, dry summers and mild winters have helped maintain large beetle populations. The result is an insect epidemic, especially in central British Columbia. The area attacked increased from about 800,000 hectares in 2001 to 4,000,000 hectares in 2003.




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		During late summer, adults leave dead trees and attack living ones, releasing chemicals that attract more beetles. They bore through the bark to get at the phloem, the sweet juicy region that carries sugars from the leaves. Here, females lay eggs and the growing larvae feed, girdling the tree. But trees have defenses. By oozing pitch out of the trunk, they may literally "pitch out" the beetles through their entrance holes. Beetles carry the spores of Bluestain Fungus, spreading it from tree to tree. The fungus interrupts the flow of water to the leaves and reduces the action of the defensive pitch. The combined action of beetle feeding and fungal attack kills the tree, turning it red. Beetle infestations have been recorded in B.C. since 1913. Large ones usually last a decade. They end when suitable trees have died, or when very cold weather kills the insects.

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