A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Bugs killed my pine

a while back i posted about my pine starting to die. at the time i just attributed it to being crowded out by the other taller trees. well, it eventually all died. i was out watering today and i swore i heard noise in the tree! i looked closer and saw little tiny holes all over the bark and noticed the stuff being pushed out of the tree. not like saw dust- more like small pieces of the tree. it wasn't as grainy as saw dust. not like termites. and termites don't eat live wood, right? i got a pocket knife from in the house and tried to cut out a bug from one of the holes and couldn't- they must have run deep inside. the holes go under the bark and right into the middle of the tree! the holes are small- maybe a centimeter across. i think my husband and i are going to cut down the tree friday morning as he is off of work that day. what the heck do you think it could be? what eats a live pine tree to death? do i have to worry about any other trees or just the pines? i would get a picture but i'm having a hard time connecting my camera to the computer- it doesn't want to recognize it after 3 years!

It sounds like some sort of borer. Did it die from the top down?

no it died from the bottom up......

Ants can live in alive trees....
and do like you discribed....

Hi Pagardener
I live in NE PA also. I am a new member but I was wondering if it is a hemlock tree or a spruce?
the hemlock trees have been attacked by woody adelgid. Its is a fluid-feeding insect that feeds on hemlock trees throughout eastern North America, including Pennsylvania. They can happen from bottom to the top.

the spruce trees have been attacked by an eastren pine shoot borer on white spruce. they bore from top down.

The hemlocks in my area have really been hit hard. Then the gypsy moths also ate every leaf off off the oaks.

to love NE PA!!

****You can move this to pests if you want...****

well we cut down the tree today. as we were sawing we saw 1 fly out of the tree. there were probably more but we only saw 1. it is very weird looking. i've been looking on the net forever and can't seem to find an exact picture. closest i can come is a pales weevil BUT with a smaller snout. maybe this guy wasn't fully grown yet? i saved it in the kids firefly jar. i'm taking it up to the local nursery place and ask them tomorrow. i'll let ya know.

Pagarden
I was wondering if you were able to get your pest identified?
Please post when you do, Im very interested.
thanks

Any word on this pest?

We have some 5 to 6 foot spruces just outside our front door. I noticed swellings on the branches as well as curled dead tips. I looked it up and they were Spruce Galls (from a small aphid-like insect)I found pics on the web:
The swellings:



The brown curling:


The reason I mention this, is because I ALSO noticed weevil-like bugs in the kitchen near the windows (close to these trees). I have been worried about my rice/flour/cereals, but thanks to your post...I am thinking they are coming in from outside. Insects are often drawn to plants that are already sick/infested, right?

I googled tree weevil and got the white pine weevil. Interestingly, they are often called SPRUCE weevils, as they also favour that tree.
http://www.pfc.forestry.ca/entomology/weevil/about_e.html

I don't know if you've solved your mystery, but I think you solved mine!
Thanks!

AT