Beetle Devastation in Colorado

September 28, 2007

Grand_lake_,_epod1

Provided by: Joanne Dunn
Summary authors & editors: Joanne Dunn

The photo above shows an example of bark beetle devastation in Grand Lake, Colorado, where hundreds of square miles of pine trees have been eaten from the inside out. These nefarious beetles lay their eggs in the bark of the pines. In recent years, drought conditions and mild winters, with too few days having temperatures below freezing, have left these conifers vulnerable to the beetles' voracious appetite. Only when winter temperatures drop below about 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) will the beetle's larvae succumb to the cold. Most of what is green in this picture is either aspen or meadow; few green pine trees remain here. Photo taken on June 14, 2007.

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