Colorado’s warm and dry winters have tipped the balance in a long-running ecological tug-of-war.
Colorado’s warm and dry winters have tipped the balance in a long-running ecological tug-of-war.
The mountain pine beetles, native insects to the Centennial State, have recently exploded in numbers in the Front Range after a decade of relatively low populations. The mild winter temperatures have allowed more beetle larvae to survive, while the lack of water has weakened pine trees’ natural defenses against the bugs.
Already, thousands of pine trees along the U.S. 285 and I-70 corridors are turning brown. The devastation prompted Gov. Jared Polis to sign an executive order in December to slow the spread of the beetles.
Read More at: University of Colorado Boulder
Samuel Ramsey looking at a beehive in his lab. (Photo Credit: Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)
