Why do larch trees change colour and drop their needles?

Larch, or tamarack, is a deciduous conifer. Like many coniferous trees, it has needles instead of leaves; but unlike evergreens, it’s deciduous, meaning it sheds at the end of the growing season. While evergreens use their needles for photosynthesis (turning sunlight into food) even in winter, larch saves resources by losing its needles, making the tree more resistant to insects and fires. Larch turns a beautiful golden yellow in autumn, but by Halloween has likely lost all its needles, leaving it looking bare and spooky — just right for the season! — and making way for other pine trees to take the stage as the iconic trees of winter and Christmastime.