Cover Caption

Dendroctonus valens , an introduced exotic pest from North America to China, has killed millions of healthy Chinese pines. Xu et al. (2016) showed two yeasts and three bacteria associated with the invasive pest degraded 20%‐50% of 〈‐pinene, the most abundant defensive monoterpene of Chinese pines. The microorganisms capable of 〈‐pinene degradation in vitro and their tolerance to high levels of 〈‐pinene suggested that D. valens ‐associated microorganisms may help both microorganisms and the bark beetle overcome host 〈‐pinene defense (see pages 183‐190). Photo by Run‐Zhi Zhang.