Yesterday my neighbor pointed out that one of the pines in my yard was dead. Another one nearby looks sick, so I need to have them checked for southern pine beetles. So this article on the spread of southern pine beetles into the Northeast was especially timely. Even though this winter in New England has been quite cold by recent years’ standards, overall the winters there are getting more mild, resulting in the spread of southern pine beetles into areas where it was previously checked by the cold weather. You can read more at the New York Times at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/climate/southern-pine-beetles-killing-trees-as-temperatures-rise.html.
