Bug FAQWestern Pine Beetle
Dendroctonus brevicomis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Curculionidae
Source: Wikipedia
Adult western pine beetles are tiny, about 3 to 5 mm long and brown or black. They live in North America, including parts of Mexico, where they attack ponderosa and Coulter pines.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The beetle is a brown or black member of the crenulate bark beetles in the Curculionidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure between 3 and 5 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found across North America and into parts of Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Females bore long egg galleries in the wood, which harms the host trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes North America and parts of Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, California, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What trees does the western pine beetle damage?
It attacks and damages ponderosa and Coulter pine trees.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the western pine beetle found?
It occurs in North America and parts of Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Curculionidae)
Green Immigrant Leaf WeevilPolydrusus formosusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Black Vine WeevilOtiorhynchus sulcatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Nettle weevilPhyllobius pomaceusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Asian Oak WeevilCyrtepistomus castaneusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Strawberry Root WeevilOtiorhynchus ovatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Leaf WeevilPhyllobius pyriDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendroctonus_brevicomis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.