Originally Posted by _Richard_

i am not sure about the bark beetle, but for the pine beetle it isn't so much about the increased temperature increasing the insect activity.. it was more the lack of 'cold winters' not being able to kill the larva in the bark of the trees.. so, these bugs just ripped through huge amounts of forest in very little amount of time

oddly enough, it's a whole forest industry of it's own.. 'blue wood'