In a couple of weeks, the town of Custer will be holding the annual Bark Beetle Blues Festival and still the Burning Beetle is under construction. On Thursday, Bark Beetle volunteers Frank Carroll and Hank Fridell were still doing some work and putting a few touches on the 16-foot long Mountain Pine Beetle which will be set on fire in a couple of weeks.

To put the massive insect together, various months have been utilized by a dozen people. According to Carroll, one of the areas that is worst affected is Custer and it is very hard for people to deal with the impact the beetles have had. The huge beetle that is under construction is made from trees that were destroyed by the Mountain Pine Beetle.

"The whole outside is made of blue stained bark beetle wood, trees that have been killed by the bark beetle", said Hank Fridell.

The Bark Beetle Blues was attended by over 1,000 people last year. According to Carroll, it was covered by National Geographic and the story appears in March. The festival will start on Saturday January 17th at Custer High School, including presentations about the Mountain Pine Beetle and their effect on the Black Hills. Then, the huge beetle will be burned followed by two hours of fun, music and food during the festival.