Trees that may be affected by the mountain pine beetle:

Ponderosa Pine (Yellow pine)

Found in Western United States and southern British Columbia. Ponderosa pines can grow up to 25 to 30 (on occasion 50 metres) metres tall be 2 metres in diameter and the trunk has only a few lower branches. The Ponderosa pine can vary from region to region in a number of ways. The needle length can vary from 12-28 centimetres in length and thickness and is found in bunches of two or three. Pinecones are oval and range from 3-6 inches in length, and have a stiff prickle on the end of each cone. The bark is broad with irregular scaly plates that look more like a jigsaw puzzle. The wood of the Ponderosa is used for decorative moulding, shelving, interior paneling, and crating material.

Western White Pine

Found in the mountains of western United States and Canada. The Western White Pine grows to 30-50 metres, occasionally reaching 70 metres. The needle length can vary from 5-13 centimetres and are finely serrated in bundles of five. The needles are soft with a bluish-green colour. The cones are long and thin, usually 12-32 centimetres long and 3-4 centimetres closed and 5-8 centimetres open. The bark is thin, smooth and grayish-green in young trees and turns darker with deep vertical grooves and small rectangular patterns as it ages. The wood of the Western White Pine is soft and used to make window sashes and frames, patterns, mouldings, doors, trim wooden matches and siding. It is also used for carving sculptures.

Lodgepole Pine

The Lodgepole Pine is the most common tree in British Columbia. The trees are tall and slender, growing 30-35 metres. The needles are paired and pointed. They vary in colour from yellow-green to dark green and are usually twisted. The cones are short and cylindrical to egg-shaped, 2-4 centimetres long. The cones need extreme heat (forest fire heat) to open and release their seeds. The bark is thin and scaly with an orangey-brown to grey colour. The wood is soft and used for making plywood, paneling, furniture, doors, windows, fence posts, and railway ties.

Jack Pine

Found throughout Canada. The Jack Pine grows to 21-24 metres, occasionally as tall as 30 metres. Its diameter is anywhere from 30-38 centimetres to a maximum of 60 centimetres. The needles are 2-4 centimetres long. They come in yellowish-green pairs and are only slightly twisted. The young bark is thin, smooth and pale grey turning scaly with narrow ridges 1-2.5 centimetres thick and dark brown to reddish-brown upon maturity. The wood is used for pulpwood, lumber, round timber, and Christmas trees.

Scotch Pine

The Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.; family Pinaceae) is a common tree ranging from Great Britain and Spain east to eastern Siberia and the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as Lapland. Scots pine, called Scotch Pine in North America, is introduced to North America as an ornamental tree.

It grows up to 25m in height when mature, exceptionally to 35-40m on a very productive site (in Estonia, there are some 220 year old trees that are 46 metres tall). The bark is thick, scaly dark grey-brown on the lower trunk, and thin, flaky and orange on the upper trunk and branches. The habit of the mature tree is distinctive due to its long, bare and straight trunk topped by a rounded or flat-topped mass of foliage. On mature trees the leaves ('needles') are an attractive blue-green, 3-5 cm long and occur in fascicles of two, but on young vigorous trees the leaves can be twice as long, and occasionally occur in threes and fours on the tips of strong shoots. The cones are pointed, ovoid in shape, and are 3-7 cm in length.

Other tree species can be affected as well

It is important to note that when the infestation reaches a saturation point, the pine beetle can jump to other species of trees such as Firs or Spruce. This is why it is very important at this time to spray all softwoods on the property to save them.