The mountain pine beetle epidemic has become a major problem for North America over the past decade. Although it is the size of a grain of rice, MPB has caused massive forest destruction in British Columbia and many parts of the United States. According to the British Columbia government website (2012) "The British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources estimates that the mountain pine beetle has killed a cumulative total of 710 million cubic meters of timber since inception of the current infestation". This damage doesn't even include the more than 3.3 million forested acres in Colorado that have been affected by MPB since the current infestation began more than a decade ago. (Colorado Forest Health Report). These are not the first outbreaks of MBP, however, and the beetle itself has been around for over 12,000 years. (D. Sesto). Epidemics have been recorded dating back to the 1920s, but what makes this one so bad? (MBP Symp 2003) (p.43). The answer to this question is: a perfect mix of warmer winters, longer, drier summers, and larger, older pine stands. The adult mountain pine beetle has the ability to survive anywhere from -11 to -25 degrees Fahrenheit. (MBP Symp 2003) (p.27). It does this by producing a polyhydric alcohol in the blood. (Somme 1964) .The MPB needed this defense, as exposure to cold was its number predator. (Safranyik 1978) (p.225). That said, it has an exceptional adaptation to combat the cold. This adaptation can only go so far, as low temperatures prevented MPB from reaching higher altitudes and spreading. However, this is no longer the case, as Professor Ken Raffa (2012) explains: “The warming of temperatures has allowed three...... half of the document ......1, 10.1139/z64-009Safranyik, L. 1978 Effects of climate and weather on mountain pine beetle populations. Pages 79-86 in D. L. Kibbee, A. A. Berryman, G. D. Amman, and R. W. Stark, eds. Theory and practice of mountain pine beetle management in loggia pine forests. Symptom Proc. ,Univ. Idaho, Mosca, ID.Raffa 2012 http://www.news.wisc.edu/21388 Smith, RH (1963). Toxicity of pine resin vapors to three species of Dendroctonusvbark beetles. Journal of Economic Entomology 56:827-831Barnett, J.R. (2004). Langenheim, J. H. Plant resins: chemistry, evolution, ecology and ethnobotany. Annals of Botany, 93(6), 784-785. doi:10.1093/aob/mch103 Reid, R. W. (1962). Biology of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus monticolae Hopkins, in the eastern Kootenay region of British Columbia. I. Life cycle, brood development and flight periods. The Canadian entomologist 94: 531- 538