A cold snap gripping western Canada may be just brutal enough to put a dent in Alberta's destructive mountain pine beetle. "The colder we go, the more we kill," Cooke said in an interview Monday with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. 'No magic number'Much like the infamously hard-to-kill cockroach, the mountain pine beetle produces a sort of antifreeze in its blood, allowing it to withstand the cold. However, extended periods of extreme temperatures can kill mountain pine beetles if it happens for long enough at the right time. Cooke estimates that the recent cold weather has killed off 90 percent of pine beetle larvae infestations in some areas of the province.

Source: CBC News February 11, 2019 17:37 UTC