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Mountain Pine Beetle
L. Unger
Introduction
The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a native pest, is the most serious insect enemy of mature pines in western Canada. In British Columbia, major outbreaks occurred in all areas with a significant pine compo-nent, except for the north-ern quarter of the province. Since the first recorded infestations in 1913, in the Okanagan and Merritt areas, major infestations have occurred in Kootenay National Park and the Chilcotin Plateau in the 1930s, on Vancouver Island during the 1940-50s, near Takla and Babine lakes in the 1950s, and through much of the south-ern interior, Chilcotin Plateau and the Skeena and Nass river areas in the late 1970s and 1980s. Well over 500 million trees were killed by the mountain pine beetle during the past 80 years.
Outbreaks generally last 8-10 years and severely deplete the pine component of forest stands; trees with a diameter greater than 25 cm are particularly susceptible. Extensive mountain pine beetle infestations has-ten forest succession, change the age and diameter distribution of the pine components of the forest, and reduce aesthetic values. Infestations can also cause marketing and operational problems and environmental concerns when large volumes of dead pine are harvested either for control or salvage purposes.
Large reserves of mature pine forest are always at risk in areas cli-matically favorable for the beetle. Good access to susceptible forests is needed so that preventative measures can be taken and so that infested stands can be quickly treated.
For more information, see the Mountain Pine Beetle Forest Pest Leaflet in the Canadian Forest Service bookstore.