The province reports mountain pine beetles managed to survive the winter months in higher numbers than the previous year.
The Alberta Government says milder winter weather throughout most of the province's forests this year is the likeliest cause of greater beetle survival this year, compared to the temperature fluctuations the previous winter, which officials say led to significant beetle mortality last year.
"If you have cold temperatures but a lot of snow on the ground, the beetles before the snow line will survive just fine simply because the snow will insulate them from the extreme cold where as in the case, where there is no snow, there's high mortality," said Dr. Allen Carroll, with the department of forest sciences at the University of B.C.
Officials say they tested 249 sites across the province and sampled more than 1,000 trees. They found the populations in northwest and central Alberta were higher.
Central and northern Alberta continue to be a high priority for the province. In Southern Alberta, there are fewer beetle-attacked trees in the region compared to previous years.
The province says six million hectares of pine forest in Alberta are susceptible to attacks by mountain pine beetle.
