- Since 1997, mountain pine beetles have infested over 300,000 hectares of lodgepole pine forests in BC's
central interior, around the cities of Prince George and Quesnel. In previous outbreaks, mountain pine beetles
have killed as many as 80 million trees distributed over 450,000 hectares, making them the second most important
natural disturbance agent after fire in these forests.
- The action of blue-stain fungi and larval feeding can kill the tree within one month of the attack.
- The start of the current mountain pine beetle infestation in B.C.'s central
Interior can be traced back to 1993.
- A hectare is considered infested if it contains more than 10 beetle-attacked trees.
- 2005 aerial overview surveys show the mountain pine beetle infestation proceeding according
to Ministry of Forests and Range forecasts, with about 8.7 million hectares of B.C.
forests in the red-attack stage. This is up from just over seven million hectares the previous year.
- Clearcutting will not stop the spread of the mountain pine beetle. In fact, more logging will
actually make forests prone to future and more devastating beetle outbreaks.
- Mountain pine beetle outbreaks develop regardless of property lines. They can
appear in mountain subdivisions, backyards and municipal parks the same as in
wilderness areas.
- The mountain pine beetle in B.C. is as far-ranging as Fort St.
James to the north; Cranbrook to the east; Houston to the west; and Manning Park,
located between Hope and Princeton, to the south.
- The direction and spread rate of a beetle infestation is impossible to predict
exactly.
- These insects inhabit forests throughout British Columbia. Like forest fires, bark beetles
play an important role in the natural life cycle of a forest. By attacking older or weakened trees,
bark beetles help hasten the development of younger forests.
- There are three stages in a mountain pine beetle attack: green, red and grey.
- In addition to B.C. and Alberta, the mountain pine beetle can be found in 12
western American states, and even Mexico.
- About 8.5 million hectares were in red-attack stage in 2005 as a result of the mountain pine beetle.
- The mountain pine beetle infestation will have economic implications in the
future for 30 communities around the province.
- 25,000 families in British Columbia are having their livelihoods impacted by
the beetle infestation.
- There have been instances of recovery though as you can see in these photographs:
| View of MPB infestation in 1980 |
Same View of MPB infestation in 1985 |
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- Click here to see an animation made by the
Pacific Forestry Center showing the impact of the MPB on British Columbia from the years 1950-2002.
- Click here to see an animation showing the impact
of the MPB on British Columbia from the years 1999-2004, and a projection from 2005-2014.
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