Description of Pine Tip Moth

Life Stages

• All species of the pine tip moth pass through the same basic stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

  Female pine tip moths lay their eggs in the spring to midsummer. It takes five to 30 days for the eggs to hatch and become larva. These larvae feed on the surrounding pine growth for approximately three to four weeks, moving down the shoot, until they molt and become pupae. The pupae attach to the hollowed out area inside the shoot and remain there until they enter their adult moth stage and reemerge the following spring.

Damage

• The damage is often identified as yellow to brown branch tips, deformation of the tree and delayed growth. The evidence of a pine tip moth larvae is often not noticeable until midsummer, when the infested shoots begin to brittle and dry, changing their color from green to yellow or reddish brown. A large amount of dry needles around the tree and loose webbing is a sign of a moth infestation. Pine tip moths are extremely damaging to pine groves, destroying young cones and female pine flowers.

Varieties

• There are several varieties of pine tip moths, including pinyon pitch pine tip moth, Nantucket pine tip moth and the Southwestern pine tip moth. Nantucket is the most damaging of the pine tip moths and is a threat to large pine plantations. This moth variety is found commonly in most climates around the continental United States, ranging from Florida to Massachusetts, and as far west as San Diego and Orange County in California.

Control

• Natural pest control, such as the presence of parasites and natural enemies, keeps the pine tip moth under control. Plant cover also helps with keeping the pine tip moth population from infesting the young trees. Planting pine species that are unappealing to the pine tip moth, such as longleaf pine, will deter the moths from the site. Infested areas can be reclaimed by careful pruning of the tips already under attack and by using insecticide for the more severely damaged trees.