 There have been a number of bark beetles plaguing Wyoming's forests in recent years. Receiving the most press is the mountain pine beetle, but others include the Douglas fir and spruce beetle. You don't have to drive far to see entire landscapes of red and brown dead and dying trees. The recent pine beetle epidemic has been generated by the combined factors of aging forests, warmer winters, and an extended drought, resulting in weak trees that make an ideal habitat for bark beetles. Beetles drill into the bark, lay eggs, and hatch larvae that eat away at the living growth layer of a tree. The mountain pine beetle is unique in that it actually injects a fungus into pine trees, thus stopping the tree's flow of nutrients. Although the beetle epidemic is impossible to completely control, land managers are taking steps to lessen the impacts. High value trees can be protected by chemicals and biological controls, or by removing recently infested trees. Forests can deter bark beetles by thinning out dense stands, promoting diversity of tree species in age classes, and by removing newly infested areas. Bark beetles are a natural cyclic forest process. Once the mature beetles run out of trees to infest, or the beetle larvae die off in an unusually cold Wyoming winter, the forest will begin to rejuvenate and come back to a healthy state. From the University of Wyoming Extension, I'm Mae Smith, Exploring the Nature of Wyoming.