Mniooo 
 
 United States 
 jlj Department of 
 Agriculture 
 
 Combined Forest Pest 
 Research and 
 Development Program 
 
 Home and Garden Bulletin 
 
 No. 226 
 
 Southern Pine 
 Beetle Handbook 
 
 Southern Pine 
 Beetles Can 
 KOI Your 
 Ornamental 
 Pine 
 
In 1974 the U.S. Department of 
 Agriculture initiated the Com- 
 bined Forest Pest Research and 
 Development Program, an inter- 
 agency effort that concentrated 
 on the Douglas- fir tussock moth 
 in the West, on the southern pine 
 beetle in the South, and on the 
 gypsy moth in the Northeast. The 
 work reported in this publication 
 was funded in whole or in part by 
 the program. This manual is one 
 in a series on the southern pine 
 beetle. 
 
Southern Pine Beetles Can 
 Kill Your Ornamental Pine 
 
 by Robert C. Thatcher, 
 
 Jack E. Coster, 
 
 and Thomas L. Payne ' 
 
 Pine Bark Beetles 
 A Forest Menace 
 
 Figure 1. — Red-topped trees killed 
 by beetles. 
 
 Southern pine beetles are compulsive 
 eaters. Each year in the South from 
 Texas to Virginia the voracious insects 
 conduct a movable feast across thou- 
 sands of acres of pine forests. Most 
 trees die soon after the beetles sink 
 their teeth into them (fig. 1). 
 
 And hungry beetles are hard to stop. 
 In the early 1970's, they killed pines 
 containing enough board feet of lum- 
 ber to build about 55,000 new houses. 
 Less than half of this wood was re- 
 moved from the forest and used. 
 
 Program Manager, Applications Coordina- 
 tor, and Research Coordinator, respectively. 
 Southern Pine Beetle Program, Pineville, 
 La. 
 
And They Can Be a Menace 
 To You, Too 
 
 Unless you are a forest manager or 
 work in the woods, you may not 
 know just how much damage the 
 beetles can do. Normally, they remain 
 under the bark of pine trees back in 
 the forest, silently gnawing away at a 
 healthy chunk of the southern timber 
 supply. 
 
 But not always. Sometimes they for- 
 age across forest lines and onto subur- 
 ban or urban lots and yards (fig. 2). 
 The homeowner with pines is not out 
 of the woods as far as southern pine 
 beetles are concerned. For this reason, 
 owners of ornamental pines in the 
 South should learn how to recognize 
 and cope with bark beetle attacks. 
 
 Figure 2. — Newly killed pines 
 around suburban home. 
 
Appearance and Life Cycle 
 
 Adult southern pine beetles are 
 roughly Vs inch long, which is about 
 the size of a grain of rice, and reddish 
 brown to solid black. The insect goes 
 through four life stages— egg, larva, 
 pupa, and adult (fig. 3)— in the inner 
 bark of its host pine tree. 
 
 Beetles mature in about a month and 
 three to eight generations are bom 
 each year. Adults have wings; after 
 killing the tree in which they were 
 born, the beetles fly to another living 
 pine to start the life cycle again. 
 
 Eggs are mere pearly white dots. Lar- 
 vae, or "grubs," are white, legless, 
 and crescent shaped, with glossy red- 
 dish-brown heads. Pupae are also 
 white but closely resemble the adult 
 beetle shape. 
 
 Figure 3. — Life stages of the 
 southern pine beetle; A, egg; B, 
 larva; C, pupa; D, adult. 
 
Associated Beetles 
 
 Figure 4. — Major pine bark 
 beetles of the South and the trunk 
 areas usually attacked. From top 
 to bottom: small Ips, medium Ips, 
 large Ips, southern pine beetle, and 
 black turpentine beetle. 
 
How Beetles Kill Pines 
 
 Southern pine beetles may feast on a 
 tree by themselves, or they may have 
 company— three species of Ips 
 engraver beetles and black turpentine 
 beetles. The different species some- 
 times strike at the same time, making 
 it hard to tell precisely what role each 
 species plays in killing the pine and 
 how much they help or hinder each 
 other (fig. 4). 
 
 There are three sizes of Ips engraver 
 beetles. The smallest is slightly smaller 
 than the southern pine beetle and at- 
 tacks the upper part of the pine, in- 
 cluding high branches. Middle-sized 
 Ips prefer the midsection and upper 
 level of the trunk, while the large en- 
 gravers seem to favor the lower one- 
 third. Although they can wipe out an 
 entire stand of pines if conditions are 
 conducive to beetle spread, all species 
 of Ips usually kill only one or a few 
 pines in isolated outbreaks. 
 
 The black turpentine beetle is the larg- 
 est bark beetle in the South, about V4 
 inch long. Yet it is the least destructive 
 because it attacks in smaller numbers, 
 strikes fewer trees, and takes longer to 
 kill them than the other species do. 
 The black turpentine beetle likes the 
 lower third of very weak or dying pines 
 and will even make a home for itself in 
 freshly cut stumps. 
 
 Southern pine beetles can kill a pine 
 tree in a matter of days. Thousands of 
 winged adults attack a single tree, bore 
 through the bark, and hollow out egg 
 "galleries." The females lay eggs in 
 niches beside the galleries. In a week or 
 so, larvae hatch and start chewing their 
 way through the cambium— living 
 conductive tissue— around the tree. 
 This feeding "girdles" the pine and 
 cuts off the normal flow of moisture 
 and nutrients throughout the tree's 
 system, quickly sapping its strength 
 and contributing to its death. Adult 
 feeding and a blue-stain fungus, which 
 piggybacks its way inside pine bark on 
 attacking adult beetles, help bring on 
 tree death. 
 
Symptoms of Beetle Attack 
 
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 Successful attacks by southern pine 
 beetles or by more than one species of 
 Ips engravers always kill the tree. But 
 if you act quickly enough, your pines 
 can weather attacks by black turpen- 
 tine beetles. Because control measures 
 depend in part on whether or not the 
 tree can be saved, you must first iden- 
 tify the species of beetle you are deal- 
 ing with. 
 
 First signs of southern pine beetle at- 
 tacks are popcorn-size lumps of pitch, 
 called "pitch tubes," which occur at 
 heights up to 60 feet (fig. 5). The pitch 
 tubes of black turpentine beetles are 
 much larger — about the size of a fifty- 
 cent piece —and appear at the foot of 
 the tree (fig. 6). Ips beetles rarely leave 
 pitch tubes. During dry weather, pitch 
 tubes do not appear; instead, red bor- 
 ing dust, which looks like fine red 
 sawdust, will collect in bark crevices 
 and at the base of the pine. 
 
 In later stages of southern pine beetle 
 attack, you will be able to see small S- 
 shaped feeding cuts on the inside of the 
 bark (fig. 7). Black turpentine beetles 
 make vertical, wide etchings and Ips 
 cut either Y- or H-shaped tunnels. The 
 final sign of attack — and the sure 
 mark of death for the tree —is a fade in 
 needle color from green to yellow, red, 
 and brown (fig. 8). 
 
 Figure 5. — Pitch tubes, the first 
 sign of southern pine beetle attack. 
 
 Figure 6. — The pitch tubes of 
 black turpentine beetles are larger 
 and lower on the tree than those of 
 southern pine and Ips beetles. 
 
Figure 7. — Beetles chew galleries 
 in the inner bark of pines. 
 
 Figure 8. — Needles on trees killed 
 by beetles fade from green to yel- 
 low, red, and brown. 
 
Pines Likely to be Attacked 
 
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 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Figure 9. — A healthy pine can 
 sometimes pitch out beetle attacks. 
 
 Figure 10. — Beetles often attack 
 lightning-struck pines. 
 
 Figure 11. — A pine that has been 
 gouged by heavy equipment. 
 
 (J Figure 12. — Construction work 
 '• has disturbed this soil and skinned 
 bark from the trees. 
 
 Figure 13. — Laying sewer or water 
 lines can disturb soil and weaken 
 pines. 
 
Some trees are apparently more ap- 
 petizing to southern pine beetles than 
 other trees. For instance, beetles seem 
 to prefer loblolly, shortleaf, and Vir- 
 ginia pines to other kinds. During a 
 beetle population explosion, however, 
 the insects will take any species of pine 
 available. 
 
 And old, unhealthy, or weakened 
 pines of all species —whether diseased, 
 damaged, or otherwise stressed— can 
 be sitting ducks for southern pine 
 beetles. Such trees have limited sup- 
 plies of pitch, which is a tree's best 
 natural defense against wood-boring 
 insects. Healthy pines can sometimes 
 "pitch out" beetle attacks by entrap- 
 ping or smothering the invaders with a 
 heavy and prolonged flow of pitch. 
 Sick ones cannot ( fig. 9). 
 
 What weakens pines? Natural causes 
 like old age, drought, prolonged 
 floods, hard freezes, fire, and lightning 
 strikes can undermine your pine's 
 vigor and make it more vulnerable to 
 beetles (fig. 10). The same is true of 
 diseases such as littleleaf and fungus- 
 caused root rot. 
 
 Man, too, causes problems. Common 
 landscaping operations like bulldozing 
 and road grading may inadvertently 
 pave the way for beetles by damaging 
 tree roots and trunks (fig. 11). Heavy 
 traffic by trucks and other construc- 
 tion equipment during the building of 
 a new house often packs down the soil 
 around tree roots. This hurts the pine 
 because it prevents normal movement 
 of water and air through the root zone 
 (figs. 12 and 13). 
 
 
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What You Can Do to Prevent 
 Beetle Attacks 
 
 Figure 14. — This old, diseased tree 
 jeopardizes the healthy ones next 
 to it. 
 
 The best way to protect your pine trees 
 is to make sure they are not attacked in 
 the first place. Keep them healthy. Re- 
 member, a wounded, sick, or light- 
 ning-struck pine on your lawn is a 
 standing invitation to dinner for 
 southern pine beetles. 
 
 But the beetles' preference for sick or 
 weak trees does not mean they cannot 
 or will not kill healthy pines. They 
 often do. In fact, once the bugs have 
 built up a large population, not even 
 the strongest and healthiest pines can 
 fight them off. This is why a single 
 damaged or unhealthy pine in your 
 neighborhood— which the beetles can 
 use as a place to get started —endan- 
 gers all the rest, sick or healthy 
 (fig. 14). 
 
 If you are building a new house, keep 
 the soil from being packed down or 
 piled up on tree roots. This will help 
 prevent drastic changes in ground 
 water movement. Avoid leaving only 
 old, large pines on your land, since 
 these trees are prime targets for 
 beetles. In warm weather during the 
 construction period check every few 
 days for pitch tubes on the outer bark 
 of your trees. 
 
 On older, established lawns, you 
 should water pines during dry spells 
 and fertilize them as needed. As a 
 general rule, two pounds of fertil- 
 izer — such as 10-8-6 formula— for 
 each inch of tree diameter will be 
 
 12 
 
enough supplemental nutrition for ma- 
 ture pines. For younger trees of less 
 than 6 inches in diameter, use only one 
 pound of fertilizer per inch of di- 
 ameter. For soil analysis and more com- 
 plete details on fertilizing your pines, 
 check with your county extension 
 agent (fig. 15). 
 
 Figure 15. — Beetles may attack 
 healthy pines on established lawns. 
 
 13 
 
Insecticides — an Ounce 
 of Prevention? 
 
 How to Control 
 Beetle Spread 
 
 What about insecticides? At present, 
 two chemicals effective against all 
 southern pine bark beetles are avail- 
 able, but this could change with new 
 Environmental Protection Agency rul- 
 ings. See your county agent about ap- 
 proved insecticides, amounts to use, 
 and methods of application. Of 
 course, be sure to read instructions 
 carefully and to handle such com- 
 pounds cautiously. 
 
 But what if it is already too late for an 
 ounce of prevention? By the time you 
 spot the telltale symptoms of beetle 
 attack — pitch tubes, feeding cuts in the 
 inner bark, and fading of tree foli- 
 age — it is too late to save the tree. You 
 have only one move left. Stop beetle 
 spread. 
 
 You can do this in two ways. First, if 
 the beetles are still under the bark of 
 the dead or dying pine, cut it down 
 and haul it away or burn it. This 
 should break up the center of beetle 
 emergence and stop them from infest- 
 ing other trees. 
 
 Second, spray the attacked pine with 
 an approved insecticide, which will kill 
 eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults still 
 under the bark. Or, you can spray 
 uninfested trees adjacent to the one 
 under attack to protect them during 
 the period of beetle emergence. 
 Whichever method of control you 
 choose, you must act quickly or the 
 beetles will spread to other pines. 
 
 14 
 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 
 
 A Check List for 
 Coping with Beetles 
 
 Acknowledgments 
 
 • Avoid damage to pines during yard 
 work and construction. 
 
 • Keep pines healthy by watering and 
 fertilizing them. 
 
 • Watch for pitch tubes and boring 
 dust, especially in summer and spring. 
 
 • Quickly remove infested trees or 
 spray with an approved insecticide. 
 
 The authors thank the Boyce Thomp- 
 son Institute of Plant Research, Inc. , 
 for permission to use the chart on 
 southern pine bark beetles, drawn by 
 Richard Kliefoth. For photographs, 
 we thank the Georgia Forestry Com- 
 mission in Macon, Forest Insect & 
 Disease Management in Atlanta, Ga., 
 and Asheville, N.C., and State & 
 Private Forestry and the Bark Beetle 
 Research Work Unit in Alexandria, 
 La. We also appreciate the manuscript 
 reviews and other assistance given by 
 Extension-Forest Resources of North 
 Carolina State University, the Texas 
 Agricultural Extension Service of the 
 Texas A&M University, the Texas 
 Forest Service, and State & Private 
 Forestry in Alexandria, La. 
 
 Issued October 1978 
 
 i7 us. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1978 O— 274-649 
 
 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office 
 Washington, D.C. 20402 
 
 Stock Number 001-001-00422-1 
 
 15 
 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 
 
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