As temperatures rise in Mississippi, landowners are urged to be on the lookout for one pesky insect known to wreak havoc on trees.
Forestry specialists with Mississippi State University Extension Service warn that bark beetles could be on the hunt for trees to destroy, especially after January’s ice storm made much of the state’s land vulnerable. Of Mississippi’s five species of bark beetles, the three species of Ips engraver beetles and southern pine beetles, or SPB, raise the most concern, officials say.
Pine bark beetles are known to kill stressed pine trees in Mississippi by boring into the cambium layer and feeding on vascular tissues, which disrupts water and nutrient movement.
“Any of our five species of bark beetles will take advantage of stressed pines, particularly broken limbs and trunks from the recent ice damage,” MSU Extension forestry specialist Butch Bailey said.
It is common to see an increase in Ips beetles after an event like an ice storm. But potential attacks by any of these beetles could be compounded by the cumulative stress trees have endured since the statewide drought of 2023.
“Trees carry stress for a long time — for years,” Bailey added. “Each stressor reduces trees’ ability to fight off insects and disease. Even though we’ve had decent rain over the past year, the trees are still not fully recovered from what I hope was a once-in-a-lifetime drought in 2023 and extreme heat.”
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Beetle activity increases as temperatures warm up, meaning landowners can expect to see evidence of their presence at any given moment, officials report. Beetle populations will grow through the summer and peak in October and November before falling through the winter.
“The first sign that most landowners notice is fading or red tops to the pines,” Bailey said. “But this is not the first sign. The first sign will be pitch tubes, which are where the beetles first dig in under the bark. These are small balls of dried sap and inner bark that are pea-sized up to dime- or nickel-sized and stuck on the trunk.”
Broken limbs and trunks of pine trees release chemicals that attract certain Ips species, experts say. This, combined with the warm temperatures just after the storm, leaves trees at a heightened risk of beetle attack.
“What makes me most nervous about this ice storm is how quickly it started warming up after the damage,” MSU Extension forestry health specialist Kristy McAndrew said. “Because we reached flying temperatures within a week of the damage, these beetles were likely flying on the landscape when these chemicals were fresh and easy for them to detect.”
With beetle attacks posing a real threat, landowners are encouraged to remove and burn timber debris if it is safe to do so in their region of the state. Landowners are encouraged to check the burn ban status in their area before setting any trees ablaze. Those who observe beetle activity are asked to call their local MSU Extension agent or a registered forester.