To prevent and mitigate the beetle's epidemic outbreaks, loggers have developed a variety of biological, cultural, and chemical controls.

[4] Like many insect species, the roundheaded pine beetle goes through several stages in its life cycle, changing dramatically in appearance between each one.

The pupae also have antennae, legs, and wing covers, reflecting characteristics of the species' adult form.

Roundheaded pine beetle pairs also feed on phloem throughout, further sapping the host tree of nutrients.

Though early-hatching eggs die, unhatched beetles are surprisingly resilient against the winter cold, surviving in temperatures as low as -25°F.

Fourth-instar larvae mature much more slowly, generally only pupating into adults in late July and early August.

[4] By late November, adults will have located fresh pines to colonize, mate in, and build an egg gallery, thus restarting the cycle.

In the 1990s, the roundheaded beetles caused similar epidemics of pine tree death in the mountains of southern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona.

[7] In dense clumps, the beetles colonize and kill pines in groups of 3 to 15; in exceptional cases, they wipe out up to 100 trees at a time.

[4] Roundheaded pine beetles also spreads the fungi Ophiostoma adjuncti and Leptographium pyrinum as it infects trees.

[4] Given the deleterious effects roundheaded pine beetles have on commercial and wild pine populations, the United States Forest Service recommends combining biological, cultural, and chemical control to mitigate roundheaded populations before the beetles' infestations become epidemic.

Chemically controlling roundheaded beetles requires lots of time and resources, so it is generally limited to protect pine trees of the highest value.