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Beetles Are Supercool! Understanding the Life Cycle of Mountain Pine Beetles (Spanish)
Mountain pine beetles are important to the Western United States. They have a very special life cycle that includes staying “supercool,” or dormant, for most of their lives. The scientists in this study wanted to know how this important life cycle could be affected by our changing climate.
(This article was published in both the Olympic Winter Games edition of Natural Inquirer and as a standalone monograph.)
This is the Spanish-language version of the article.
Beetles Are Supercool! Understanding the Life Cycle of Mountain Pine Beetles (Spanish)
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In this FACtivity, we are going to get to know beetles close up! You will catch and release beetles from your schoolyard, home yard, or elsewhere and make observations about...FACTivity – Beetles Are Supercool (Spanish)
In this FACtivity, we are going to get to know beetles close up! You will catch and release beetles from your schoolyard, home yard, or elsewhere and make observations about...
Glossary
View All Glossaryannual
(an yə(-wə)l): (1) Covering the period of a year; (2) occurring or happening every year or once a year.
carbohydrate
(kär bō hī drāt): Any of various compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (as sugars, starches, or celluloses) most of which are formed by plants and are a major animal food.
climate
(klī mǝt): The average weather conditions of a particular place or region over a period of years.
complexity
(kǝm plek sǝ tē): Something that is complex, or hard to separate, analyze, or solve.
indicator species
(in də kā tər spē sēz): A species that is so closely associated with particular environmental conditions that their presence in an environment is a sign of these conditions.
larva
(lär ve): (plural “larvae”) The immature, wingless, and often wormlike feeding form that hatches from the egg of many insects.
metabolize
(mə ta bə līz): To build up or break down the complex substances in the cells of living things (in order to provide essential energy for vital processes and activities and to absorb new material).
phenology
(fi nä lə jē): A branch of science dealing with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (such as bird migration or plant flowering).
phloem
(flō em): A tissue in plants that contains sieve tubes that carry dissolved food material and that lies mostly outside the cambium.
population
(pä pyǝ lā shǝn): The total of individuals occupying an area.
pupa
(pyü pə): (plural “pupae”) A stage of an insect (as a bee, moth, or beetle) having complete metamorphosis that occurs between the larva and the adult, is usually enclosed in a cocoon or case, and goes through changes inside by which structures of the larva are replaced by those of the adult.
resin
(re zǝn): Any of various yellowish or brownish substances that are obtained from the gum or sap of some trees (like pines) and are used in varnishes and plastics and in medicine.
simulate
(sim yǝ lāt): To make an imitation (or copy or model) by one system or process of the way in which another system or process works.
stand
(stand): A group of plants growing in a continuous area.
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Jesse Logan
Ecologist
I like being a scientist because of the excitement of learning new things and the rewards of being creative. I became interested in natural resources as a young boy enjoying...View Profile -
Barbara Bentz
Entomologist
I like being a scientist because I enjoy the art of discovery. I became interested in natural resources when I was a young child, traveling and camping with my family.View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Lessons
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In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading of a Natural Inquirer article and then will evaluate the impacts of the scientists’ research on their own behaviors. This...Lesson Plan – Guided Reading and Implications
In this lesson plan, students will complete a guided reading of a Natural Inquirer article and then will evaluate the impacts of the scientists’ research on their own behaviors. This...
Education Files
Related Resources from the Natural Inquirer
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Mountain pine beetles are important to the Western United States. They have a very special life cycle, that includes staying “supercool,” or dormant, for most of their life. The scientists...Beetles Are Supercool! Climate Change Monograph Series – Vol. 1 No. 2
Mountain pine beetles are important to the Western United States. They have a very special life cycle, that includes staying “supercool,” or dormant, for most of their life. The scientists... -
Mountain pine beetles are important to the Western United States. They have a very special life cycle that includes staying “supercool,” or dormant, for most of their lives. The scientists...Beetles Are Supercool! Understanding the Life Cycle of Mountain Pine Beetles
Mountain pine beetles are important to the Western United States. They have a very special life cycle that includes staying “supercool,” or dormant, for most of their lives. The scientists... -
In this FACtivity, we are going to get to know beetles close up! You will catch and release beetles from your schoolyard, home yard, or elsewhere and make observations about...FACTivity – Beetles Are Supercool
In this FACtivity, we are going to get to know beetles close up! You will catch and release beetles from your schoolyard, home yard, or elsewhere and make observations about... -
After reading “Beetles Are Supercool!,” see if you can complete this word search with the article’s glossary terms.Word Search – Beetles Are Supercool!
After reading “Beetles Are Supercool!,” see if you can complete this word search with the article’s glossary terms.
