SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bark beetle epidemic wiped out swaths of pinon trees around Santa Fe more than a decade ago, and now new research predicts that warming winters could spell more trouble.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have done a large-scale analysis to demonstrate that higher temperatures allow the destructive beetle to multiply rapidly and expand its range.

Bark beetle is a broad classification that includes more than 6,000 beetle species that reproduce in the inner bark of trees.

Researcher Devin Goodsman says more beetles would stick ar...