Nantucket pine tip moth larva on pine bud.
The tip moths overwinter as pupae in the tips of infested trees. In the South the adults emerge on warm days during the late winter months, mate, and the females lay eggs in the axils between needles and stem near the terminal bud of host trees. On hatching, larvae bore first into the base of developing needles, and later into the new terminal growth or buds. There are two to four generations per year in the southern part of the tip moth’s range.
Chemical control is generally not considered practical in forest plantations, but several pesticides have proved effective in reducing insect damage in seed orchards.
Newly emerged adult tip moth on a damaged shortleaf pine tip.
PALES WEEVIL, Hylobius pales (Hbst.)
Pales weevil is perhaps the most serious insect pest of pine reproduction in the southeastern United States. Losses in susceptible areas commonly run 20-25 percent, but exceed 90 percent under circumstances favoring weevil development. Pales weevil is found throughout pine-growing regions of eastern United States and Canada. Feeding has been reported on most coniferous species, and all species of southern pines appear to be susceptible in varying degrees.
Pitch-eating weevils in the genera Pachylobius, Hylobius, and Pissodes.