Spruce bark beetles hijack their host tree’s chemical defenses, transforming them into potent weapons against fungal threats.

Bark beetles convert spruce tree defenses into more potent antimicrobials to protect themselves, but a fungus can neutralize ...

Then there is the fungus, Beauveria bassiana. This fungus is neither the tree’s nor the beetle’s friend; as a pathogenic ...

When it comes to controlling plant pests like diseases, insects and weeds, the timing of control is critical to being successful in reducing the pest or preventing plant damage. A common reaction to a ...

A friend of mine from the pool who was rehabbing a broken arm gave me a call a few weeks ago about these little pinecones on her arborvitae. I said okay, I would like to see this issue. She invited me ...

The Oregon Department of Forestry is assessing damage done by the spruce aphid insect along the Oregon Coast after an outbreak in Yachats was discovered earlier in 2025. According to ODF, the spruce ...

An insect called the western spruce budworm continues to be the most widespread forest pest in Colorado, but a bark beetle with notable infestations in places such as the Grand Mesa is the deadliest ...

As Oregon gets hotter and drier due to climate change, tree-killing invasive pests that prefer warmer temperatures are thriving — endangering Sitka spruce along the coast, firs in the mountains and ...

The insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana detoxifies the defense substances of the beetles, which originate from plant precursors, and can successfully infect these insects.