The Mountain Pine Beetle 1. What is the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) and what does it look like? The Mountain Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a parasite afflicting pine trees in the Rocky Mountain west. Measuring between 1/8th and 1/3rd of an inch (see Figure 1), the MPB is a black bark beetle that differs from other similar species such as the Ips beetle species in that the wing covers for the MPB are smooth while the wing covers for Ips beetles have spines (Leatherman 2005). 2. Where can the MPB be found?