Bark beetles can destroy spruce forests by converting the trees' defences into even more toxic substances, scientists ...

Learn more about the chemical arms race between a fungus, a tree, and a beetle.

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 ...

Spruce bark is rich in phenolic compounds that protect trees from pathogenic fungi. A research team at the Max Planck ...

Spruce bark beetles use the plant defense compounds in spruce bark as a protective mechanism. After feeding, they metabolize ...