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ARBORIST CHAD DYKSTRA treats a Ponderosa Pine tree for the Western Bark Beetle. The nicotine-based insecticide is harmless to plants and animals, but lethal to bugs, and has come under fire recently as a risk to the health of honey bees. Courtesy photo

Closeup of a "pitch tube," which the pine tree uses as a defense against the beetle, encapsulating and ejecting the invader. Drought-weakened trees can't always muster the necessary sap, and are therefore susceptible to the beetle . Courtesy photo