I’ve long been fascinated by the marks left by pine engraver beetles (genus Ips) and recently found some nice examples on fallen white pine branches.

bark beetle galleries-1114 bark beetle galleries-1104

bark beetle galleries-1098The adult beetles inject eggs into little holes they make in the tree back, and the hatched larvae then eat at the interface between the bark and the cambium, leaving the pattern of grooves called galleries.  These beetles mostly infest stressed, dying, or dead trees, and are apparently not one of the forest pests we have to worry about, at least for now.