Forest Pests ID Flashcards
Black Turpentine Beetle
Bark Beetle
¼” long with round rear. Reddish brown to black. Brownheaded grub
2.5-4 month lifecycle. Adults lay eggs in grooves chewed by beetles
Large pink pitch tubes, half dollar size, towards base of trunk
Commonly harm loblolly pine
Ips Beetles
Bark Beetle
1/10” to ¼” long. Yellow, dark reddish brown to black. Scooped out rear. Larvae are yellowish white ¼-⅓” long
Lifespan is 25 days. Population can expand rapidly
Ips girdle trees quickly by building egg galleries. Blue stained fungi that block sap flow.
Small red pitch tubes. Larval feeding tunnels filled with dust.
Usually only attack a few isolated trees.
Galleries shaped like H or Y. Within crowns of pines.
Southern Pine Beetle
Bark Beetle
Drought worsens outbreaks
Black measuring ⅛” long, round rear
Lifecycle 35-60 days
S shaped galleries, only on inner bark, not sap wood
Infestation happen in middle to upper trunk
Needles turn yellow, then brown, then drop
Fungi will stain tree interior, pitch tubes all over tree
Nantucket Pine Tip Moth
Terminal-, Root-, and Shoot-Infesting Insect
Attacks shortleaf, loblolly, and VA pines.
Adults: small, covered in gray scales with reddish brown and silvery gray forewings.
Larvae: cream colored with black heads, mature larvae are yellow to orange.
Adults emerge coinciding with each growth flush of the host tree. First generation emerges in late March to mid- April.
Attack developing shoots of young pines, stunting growth and deworming the stem.
Look for tree deformities, crooks, or multiple stems in trees, indicating infestation.
Deodar Weevil
Terminal-, Root-, and Shoot-Infesting Insects
Attack pine and cedar.
Adults ¼” long gray brown to dark brown. White spots on wings.
Larvae are cream and legless with brown heads.
Eggs layed in winter, adults emerge in May but are inactive in summer.
Feed on young shoots in the crown of saplings. Attracted to stress of dying trees.
Bark swells over feeding areas. Likely to infest stressed or weak trees. Drill holes on saplings
Pine Reproduction Weevils: Pales Weevils and Pitch-Eating Weevils
Terminal-, Root-, and Shoot-Infesting Insects
Attack pines, firns, hemlocks, and juniper.
Pales: ⅓” long, reddish brown to black. Orange to yellow scales on head.
Pitch-Eating: slightly larger than Pales, not serious pests.
Eggs layed on cut stumps or dead pines. Adults emerge in Mid-August to Mid-September near bottom tree.
Adults may transmit root disease and feed on twigs.
From June to August a Pales Weevil infestation looks like dead seedlings or dead shoot tips and pitch bleeding on twigs and shoots
White Pine Weevil
Terminal-, Root-, and Shoot-Infesting Insects
⅙ to ¼” long. Brown scales on wing covers and curved snout.
Adults emerge in spring and feed on new top growth of tree. Eggs layed in feeding pits, larvae tunnel down into cambium.
Kills to growth of pine and spruce caused by larvae boring into cambium. Infested trees show branch wilt in June. New growth will take place causing crooked or multi-stemmed trees.
New growth will be stunted.
Snout is almost as long as rest of body.
Coneworms
Cone and Seed Feeders
Infest pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, and cypress seed orchards.
White patches in zigzag lines across wings. Larvae are brown to purple above and white to green on bottom.
Larvae feed on flowers, buds, and shoots, second year cones, branches, stems, and injured tree trunks.
Can cause heavy cone loss in seed orchards. Larvae feeding in cones cause partial to complete seed loss. Large holes filled with frass within cones
Leaffooted Pine Seed Bug
Cone and Seed Feeders
Attack loblolly and shortleaf pine.
Adults are red to brown to gray. Flattened leaf like hind legs.
Piercing sucker mouth parts that are inserted into the cones. Seeds become flattened and shriveled.
Narrow white marks across wings
Gypsy Moth
Defoliators
Caterpillars defoliate and can kill trees. Moths themselves are harmless. Wing span 2 inches. Distinct inverted V on wings. Larvae have yellow markings on head and brown gray on bodies. Hair on each segment of larvae, blue spots and red dots on back.
Larvae hatch in spring, when hardwood trees bud, larvae stage lasts 7 weeks.
Defoliation weakens trees, which leads trees susceptible to other insects or disease.
Fall Cankerworm
Defoliators
Attacks Ash, Beech, and Maple. Adults are active in late fall. Adult males are brown with glossy wings and irregular white bands. Female moths are wingless. Larvae are light green to dark brownish green. Pupae lie just below ground in silk cocoon.
Larvae hatch from late April to early May, as buds are emerging on host trees. Larval stage is 5 to 6 weeks.
Young larvae eat area in between the small veins. Defoliation in two years in a row can kill a tree.
Dark colored caterpillars on tree mean infestation. Defoliation is visible in late May early June. Two weeks before gypsy moth. Heavy defoliation is generally contained to higher elevations.
Redheaded Pine Sawfly
Defoliators
Attack conifers, mainly 2 to 3 needled pines.
Adults are small, and resemble wasps. Males totally black. Females are black with white belly. Larvae have six stubby legs and 3 real legs.
Larvae feed through September. Feed on new and old needles and tender bark and young twigs. Feed on smaller younger trees or stressed trees.
Larvae have 6 rows of black spots on bodies.
Adelgids
Sucking Insects
Largely are harmless, covered by waxy coating
Balsam Woolly Adelgid
Sucking Insects
Adults are wingless, oval, purplish black. Waxy coating looks like white wool.
When insect is mobile it is reddish brown.
Once crawler finds suitable feeding location it inserts tubelike mouthparts into bark and stays there the rest of its life. Adult numbers peak in May or early June.
Attack all firs. Infest the outer parts of tree crowns on the main stem and branches. Drooping of shoots and swelling of outer twigs. Sapwood may swell which interferes with water flow of tree.
Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
Sucking Insects
Winged or wingless; covered in white wooly tufts. Heavy infestations are made up mainly of winged insects.
Only attacks hemlocks. Nymphs and adults suck sap from twigs. Needles drop to the point of defoliation, and the tree dies.
Infestations will look like white masses on twigs and at base of needles.
