Dendroctonus rufipennis, the spruce beetle, is a species of bark beetle native to British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Northern Manitoba, the Yukon, Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Maine.

The insect has a 1-, 2-, or 3-year life cycle, with 2-year being the most common, in which the flight and attack period starts in June or soon after most of the snow around the trees has melted.

They emerge the following spring and fly to green trees, blowdowns, cull logs, or stumps to start another generation.

The beetle may have a 1-year cycle at lower elevations, on warmer sites, or during an abnormally warm year, reaching the adult stage before the onset of winter.

Fungi such as Leptographium abietinum may help beetles to overcome the defences of weakened trees during mass attack.

Leptographium abietinum was the most commonly isolated blue stain fungus for both beetle species.

The overpopulation of beetles in some forests in Kenai, Alaska, has damaged several spruce species that are no longer able to dwell there.