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Spruce beetles are damaging Colorado forests, in complete contrast to the mountain pine beetles that are no longer wreaking havoc here. This beetle has attacked 182,000 acres of "newly infected forests", bringing the total number of affected acres to 409,000 across the state. It has led to a large number of "tree death"----approximately 1.6 million acres in Colorado since 1996, according to a news report.Yet, the damage is yet to eclipse those that have been created by mountain pine beetle.

Along with the spruce beetle threat, the western spruce budworm and the Douglas-fir tussock moth are also expanding their reach, with almost 340,000 affected acres of conifer forests last year alone, according to The Denver Post.

Earlier, the pine beetle effect in Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota had inflicted land that was as large as Massachusetts.

"The lesson we can take away from the extensive insect and disease damage we've seen in Colorado over the past two decades is the need for proactively taking care of our forests," State Forester Mike Lester said. "The best time to take actions to address long-term forest health is before a major outbreak starts, and not after."

As spruce trees are mostly situated in wet, high-elevation regions that have separations wider than lodgepole pines attacked by the pine beetle infestation, the infestation at present will not be likely to occupy such a vast region, according to the Associated Press.

The spruce beetle infestation is most likely to lead to "blown-down trees, drought stress, increasing temperatures and a high-density level".

However, aspen trees that flourish in the mountains with bright autumn leaves are not likely to die out of damage and drought of earlier years, reports ABC News.