The eastern larch beetle heavily impacted a swath of Minnesota's forest.
Photo by Marc Roberts, USDA Forest Service.
Eastern larch beetle is a native bark beetle infesting tamarack (eastern larch) at unprecedented levels throughout Minnesota's tree range.
Historically, the eastern larch beetle produced small localized outbreaks that lasted only a few years and did not cause much mortality. However, climate change has lengthened the growing season, which has increased reproductive success and allowed the beetle population to increase more quickly than in the past. As of 2022, Minnesota is in its 23rd consecutive year of eastern larch beetle outbreak, and currently has more than 971,000 acres with affected forest tamarack.
Location
Eastern larch beetle occurs anywhere tamarack is found across the northern United States and Canada.
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Showing locations of Eastern larch beetle in northern Minnesota based on percent of area affected