Life Sciences Commons^™

Sp482 The Southern Pine Beetle, Larry Tankersley

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

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Sp547 Common Tree Borers In Tennessee, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Many types of insect and mite pests can attack trees in home landscapes. Although feeding damage from most of these pests is aesthetically displeasing, it does not cause severe damage to the tree. Even after total defoliation by caterpillars, most trees will put out a new flush of foliage. Several consecutive years or more of defoliation are needed to cause a serious decline or death of most trees. Also, defoliation late in the growing season is much less detrimental to tree health than that occurring in spring or early summer.

Conversely, some pests can routinely cause significant damage and even …

Sp482 The Southern Pine Beetle, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The Southern Pine Beetle (SPB) inhabits Tennessee forests, and as forest landowners, we should be prepared to deal with the insect. Each year SPB causes thousands of dollars worth of damage to stands of Southern yellow pines, e.g., Loblolly, shortleaf and Virginia pines. Landowners living near or on their property can reduce losses to SPB by knowing the symptoms of a SPB attack, what to do about it and how to prevent it.

Sp290-Y Greenstriped Mapleworm, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The greenstriped mapleworm Dryocampa rubicunda (F.) is found throughout most of the eastern United States. This insect pest prefers maples; however, it has been reported feeding on various oaks and boxelder.

Sp290-U Nantucket Pine Tip Moth, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock), is a pest of pines in the Eastern, Central and Southern states. Host trees attacked include Scotch, Austrian, Virginia, red, loblolly and shortleaf pines. Longleaf, slash and eastern white pines are rarely attacked.

During recent years, the Nantucket pine tip moth has become an increasingly destructive and abundant pest because of the increase in acreage of pine plantations and seed orchards. Larvae of this moth kill and deform shoots of infested trees. This damage results in a reduction in height, forking or crooking of main stems and, occasionally, death of the tree. …

Sp290-P White Pine Aphid, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The white pine aphid, Cinara strobi (Fitch), occurs wher ev er Eastern white pines are grown. This pest uses its needle-like mouthparts to suck sap from twigs and branch es. Severely infested parts of trees turn yellow and drop their needles.

Sp290-M Maple Petiole Borer, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The maple petiole borer, Caulocampus acericaulis (MacGillivray), was first introduced into the United States from Europe. This sawfly is wasp-like in appearance and is rarely seen because of its small size. Although several species of maple are subject to attack by this insect, sugar maples are preferred.

Sp678 Forest Management Strategies To Minimize The Impact Of The Gypsy Moth, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Use of silviculture to manage gypsy moth effects gives foresters additional tools for developing integrated pest management programs. Silvicultural actions should be taken prior to gypsy moth outbreaks to reduce or minimize the potential damage that arises in stands vulnerable to gypsy moth. Three approaches to reduce stand susceptibility to gypsy moth are applicable. First, change the stand composition by reducing the proportion of favored species and increasing the number of non-favored species in the stand. This can be accomplished through intermediate thinning treatments. The percentage of favored species that remain should be less than 30 percent of total composition. …

Sp503-H Beech Scale, A Potential Threat In The Landscape, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The beech scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga Lindinger) was first found in the U.S. in Massachusetts and Maine in the 1930s. This European insect feeds on American and European beech by inserting its long, needle-like, piercing-sucking mouthparts (or stylets) through the smooth bark, where the scale remains stationary throughout its life. This persistent feeding can stress the tree, especially during drought conditions, and reduce the overall vigor and quality of beech. However, it is this insect’s association with two species of fungi, Nectria galligena (a native fungus) and Nectria coccinea var. faginata (an introduced European fungus), that can cause mortality …

Sp503-G The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid - A Threat To Hemlock In Tennessee, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), a destructive aphid-like insect pest of eastern and Carolina hemlock, is originally from Asia. Its first discovery in the United States was in Oregon on western hemlock in the 1920s. It was not found in the East until the 1950s, when it was detected in Virginia. Since then it has spread throughout the East from New England to North Carolina (1995) and most recently to East Tennessee in 2002. The HWA is expanding its range an average of 15 miles per year.

The hemlocks found in Asia and the western and mountain hemlocks that occur …

Sp290-F Maple Leaf Pouch Galls, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Eriophyid mite species cause a variety of pouch galls on red, sugar and silver maples. Pouch gall formation, a localized growth reaction of the infested plant, occurs as a result of mite feeding activity. The species of mite can be identified by the specific characteristics of the gall on the host plant.

Sp518 Gypsy Moth Management For Homeowners, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Forestry, Trees, and Timber

Soon, the gypsy moth will become a household word in Tennessee. This obnoxious new neighbor will be eating its way through our hardwood forests, leaving some forests bare.

The gypsy moth is an introduced exotic insect that defoliates hardwood trees, particularly oaks and hickories. Several successive defoliations by the gypsy moth may eventually kill the tree. The gypsy moth has the potential to decimate some older oak forests, similar to the effects of chestnut blight in the early 1900s. The moth was brought to Massachusetts from Europe in 1869 as part of a silk-making experiment. Some larvae escaped, and the …