Skip to main content
bark beetle

bark beetle

1 6.5
A small beetle that bores tunnels in tree bark and often kills the tree
  • noun
  • /bɑrk ˈbiːtəl/
translation icon : escarabajo de la corteza
  • At the end of that time, drought, bark beetles, and fire did the job for them.
  • pine bark beetle
  • bark beetle infestation
  • spruce bark beetle

Examples

  • In fact, these treatments increased the overall diversity of vegetation and improved tree health, making the trees more resilient to bark beetle attacks.

    Blog text (16)
  • And the fire danger will only grow, as 40 million acres of ghost forests—standing trees killed by an epidemic of bark beetles that metastasize in warmer winters—are ready to burn.

    Blog text (18)
  • It's the cause of dry climate and bark beetles And death of the trees and forest.

  • Even worse, the spruce bark beetles are eating These trees to death and turning them from green to red.

  • The bark beetle carries the worm to its nest, where it will feed its young for up to six months.

  • Changes in climate are also expected to increase bark beetle outbreaks (Bentz et al. 2010).

    Academic text (2016)
  • The pines smelled of hot resin, and some bled yellowish-white sap from bark beetle wounds.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The pine bark beetle has devastated millions of acres of Western forests.

  • Most bark beetles lay eggs under the bark of trees that are already dead or dying.

  • From 2000 to 2012, bark beetles killed enough trees to cover the entire state of Colorado.

Synonyms

borer
vsbark beetle
3 8.1

An insect or larva that makes holes in wood and damages trees

is the specific small beetle group that tunnels in tree wood and damages trees
Scolytus
vsbark beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A small beetle that lives under tree bark and often damages trees

is the general term for small beetles that tunnel in tree wood
Dendroctonus
vsbark beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

Small beetles that live under the bark of pine or fir trees and kill grown trees

is the broader name for small beetles that tunnel in tree wood
Dendroctonus rufipennis
vsbark beetle
  • Specialized
9.9

A small beetle that bores into spruce bark and eats the layer under it, often killing the tree

is the general term for small beetles that tunnel in tree wood
spruce bark beetle
vsbark beetle
  • Specialized
8.0

A small insect that makes holes in the bark of spruce trees and often kills them

is the general term for small beetles that tunnel in tree wood

How Damaging

powder-post beetle
  • Specialized
9.4
termite
63 2.9
bark beetle
1 6.5
woodlouse
  • UK
8.8

Surface Forms

bark beetle singular
bark beetles plural

Morphology

bark + beetle

The compound 'bark beetle' is directly compositional: a beetle associated with or found in the bark, so a learner who knows 'bark' and 'beetle' can infer it is a type of beetle that lives in or damages bark. This noun–noun compounding is a regular and cross-linguistically common pattern, making the meaning readily derivable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Bark beetle is named for where it lives: tiny beetles that crawl under a tree's bark and make tunnels. When many beetles do this, the tunnels stop the tree moving water and food, so they can 'damage' or even 'kill' the tree.