The first sign of an attack is usually a smell, an aroma that can be quite pleasant, like a freshly cut Christmas tree. It emanates from some of the deepest swamps and most hidden recesses of Minnesota’s forests. But along with that aroma, there is something else in the air, something sweet to a destructive type of bark beetle. It’s a trail of pheromones signaling that it is time to feast.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota have identified the chemicals and compounds that eastern larch beetles produce to communicate with one other.

— Read more in Pheromones from tiny beetles could help save Minnesota’s tamarack trees at The Minnesota Star Tribune.