Southern pine beetles march farther north each year leaving trails of dead pine trees in their wake, and moving deeper into the pitch pine forests of the Jersey Pine Barrens. The invasion could result in considerable damage, changing the ecology of the Pine Barrens.State Forester Lynn Flemming said the beetles destroyed 14,000 acres of pine forest in the state last year.

MORE: The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station has published  a new synthesis of research on the southern pine beetle.