Mountain Pine Beetle

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Mountain Pine Beetle

• Dendroctonus ponderosae

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Background Information on the Mountain Pine Beetle

• Species of bark beetle
• Native to forests on the west coast of North
  America from Mexico to central British Columbia
• About 5 millimetres long
• Black, plain colouring

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The Problem

• Infests most pines including the Ponderosa,
  Limber, Scots and Lodgepole
• Attacks trees under stress
• Symbiotic relationship with blue-stained fungus
  - prevents tree from defending itself
• Two reasons the population is exploding
  1 Warmer winter temperatures
  2 Better forest fire control

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How?

• Female beetle licks trees until it finds one old
  enough
• Releases pheromones to call male beetles to the
  site
• Trees release toxic resin
• Blue-stained fungus stops spread of resin
• Phloem layer of tree damaged enough to cut off
  flow of water and nutrients
• Tree starves to death in about two weeks

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Because the tree does not get its water or
nutrients, the needles turn red.
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This makes it very easy to tell which areas have
been effected by the beetles, especially with an
aerial view.
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The Threat

• East over the Rocky Mountains, into Alberta
• Further north
• Boreal forest accounts for about one third of
  the worlds woodland
• Across the nation

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The Solution

• Controlled forest fires
• More logging
• Burning dead trees

Other Possibilities

• Fake pheromones
• Breaks in trees
• Anti-fungal
• Natural Predators
• Vary the species

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MAPS
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Mountain Pine Beetle Simulation Game
(Woohoo)
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Trial 1

• Second person in each row rolls a die
• 1, 2 pass to your right
• 3, 4 keep it
• 5, 6 pass to your left

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Trial 2

• Second person in each row rolls a die
• 1, 2, 3 pass to your right
• 4, 5 keep it
• 6 pass to your left

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Trial 3

• Second person in each row rolls a die
• 1, 2, 3 pass to your right
• 4, 5 keep it
• 6 pass to your left
• Fourth person in each row has a second die. If
  they get the first die and roll a1, 2, or 3,
  they roll the second die. If that die is a 6,
  they pass it on. If its not, they keep it.

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Trial 4

• Same thing as 3, but this time at the end, each
  row that has their die at the last person gets
  candy!