Pine Beetles Love Rush Limbaugh

If you have ever driven along Colorado’s Interstate 70 from Denver to Vail, sick you might have noticed all the dead pine trees along the highway. Some think it is due to pollution spewed by cars but is actually nature at work.

Mountain pine beetles have killed an estimated 3.6 million acres of trees in Colorado alone. Their favorite food is the lodgepole pine tree but they also enjoy the ponderosa, Scotch and limber pine. The beetles kill the trees by creating fungus under the bark, which slows growth and eventually kills it.

The root issue is that the beetles are enjoying run-away growth. Each winter, the beetle lays eggs under the bark and the larva have a natural antifreeze which protects them during the cold winter.

The balance being disturbed here is that most larva die each winter when mountain temps stay at -30F for at least 5 straight days. That has not happened for almost a decade thus fueling a beetle explosion. And they need to eat.

The BLM and other agencies have struggled to stop the attack primarily in Arapaho-Roosevelt, White River and Routt national forests. They  are also a problem in the Black Hills and other parts of the Rocky Mountains.

Now Colorado will receive a $30 million war-chest against the hungry beetles. The money will be used to remove dead trees that are a threat to power lines, roads and homes. But there is no way of practically stopping the invasion so this is the humans can do at the moment. More info can be found at this link.

Not all is lost however. Creative researchers at Northern Arizona University have experimented with playing the sounds the beetles make themselves. They seem to move away quickly. I am not sure about this however, since when played a recording of Rush Limbaugh, the beetles took it in stride and continued to eat. (Thanks to Adventure Life for this pointer)

Climb On!

Alan