This Tiny Beetle Is Devastating Forests in the Worst Outbreak Ever | Short Film Showcase

Despite being smaller than a grain of rice, mountain pine beetles are causing big problems for pine forests across North America.

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Bark beetle colonies feed and reproduce on the inner bark of ponderosa and limber pines, wreaking deadly havoc on the tree's ability to circulate nutrients and absorb water. Due to changes in climate and other factors, the recent outbreak of these destructive insects has reached proportions never before seen in recorded history. Alarming estimates from the U.S. Forest Service state that 100,000 beetle-infested trees fall daily across the United States.

To combat this epidemic, Professor Diana Six has made it her mission to crack the genetic code of the pine tree. She hopes that studying the relationship between the mountain pine beetle and the trees they kill will provide us with valuable insight into the future of our forests. In this short film made at the International Wildlife Film Festival Filmmaker Labs, Professor Six walks among the trees and shares her thoughts on why humans can do more to counteract the effects of climate change.

Music:
New West Studios

Art:
Eric Linton

A Special Thanks To:
University of Montana

WWF

Canon USA, Inc.

Days Edge

Generously funded by:
WWF

Tangled Bank Studios

A film by:
Chris O’Flaherty

Todd Amacker

Shireen Rahimi

Olivia Schmidt

Tim Treuer

About National Geographic:
National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible.

This Tiny Beetle Is Devastating Forests in the Worst Outbreak Ever | Short Film Showcase

National Geographic

[ratatataraxia]

I love hearing about people with more means than I who also love trees and keep them sacred and try to protect them. Keep it up!

[somerled]

Fire suppression has also contributed to the pine beetle epidemic. Natures way of controlling the beetles overpopulation is extended winter cold snaps and wildfires.

[justplanebob]

I'm really glad to hear new signs for hope. Our last summer to live in Colorado, we visited Grand Lake. I'd been familiar with the Mountain Pine Beetle damage in Cameron Pass for many years as I fished there often. We visited Grand Lake in 2012. Gazing up at whole mountain sides of dead trees I was so fearful that it would burn one day. We were heart broken because we loved the area so. It took until 2020. Our friends cottage was spared and now we hear it is re-generating. We can't wait to visit again.

[oisantos]

Stunning forest. Love this place. Where is it located😊

[lisahughesnowwilhelmi]

Be aware to clean the tools used to cut the trees down and clean up afterwards to reduce the spread of tiny eggs and/or attract more beetles to the dead wood. Spread the Word not the Herd:)

[walterwhite]

THIS LADY IS DEFINITELY AN INSANE LIBERAL 😂

[Edandpuppy]

maybe the Earth is trying to heal itself from people

[jeffcouncilor]

We are not, and have never been in control of the climate...Global warming is a good thing that is causing a greening affect on the world.

[kelmen]

is this tiny little thing a true nature critter? or a mutated one? or a run off experiment from unknown dna lab? nature generally has its own equilibrium system. where are it's predator?

[JuanLopez-tphj]

What if you could cross specific pine trees with others for example say you crossed a ponderosa pine with trees being affected by certain problems one pine has certain abilities to survive as opposed to others but what if we crossed pines to survive certain situations like drought heat and pests ?.

[aurora.the.explorer]

Zero answers?! Seriously?! Many of us watched this hoping to learn, you know!

[efilwv]

BEATLE JUICE BEATLE JUICE BEATLE JUICE!

[USmensnationalteam]

you lost me @ "I became interested in nature before I could walk."

[trinisun]

Everything is going to be okay. There's no need for worry :-)

[MegaRudeBoy]

The Earth has always undergone huge changes, we have become dependent on the current conditions because they have lasted this long, but between or callous gold digging and natural processes, all that will change eventually.

[SpuroftheMountain]

Interesting short film, crazy how something as small as a beetle can have such a large impact on an ecosystem.

[AzlianaLyana]

So even the slight change of duration and level in temperature has let the beetles' to thrive even longer. Additionally, if these are wild pine trees, it may have been there for a few hundred years? That's some great loss there. Thanks National Geographic for sharing.

[DavidMashil]

I love this "we need to take the blame of the insects, human activity is where the blame rests"

[concerned]

How about 150 years of wildfire suppression? You did not mention that as a possible contributing factor. Also the stress of the competition of trees due to the lack of natural selection from fires? A healthy forest can come from wildfires and logging in place of fires. I mean selective logging to define my argument.

[manjeetsinghmann]

Fantastic job by you and your team, me too a Science graduate in Botany, was moved by your research work and then send a message to the whole world that all is not well with it. Your efforts are truly laudable and appreciated, thanks for your uploads.