Knowledgebase
Boring Insect Issue #853870
Asked October 24, 2023, 12:15 AM EDT
I have two 25 year old pine trees that have started to lose their needles quite rapidly this summer. There are holes in the trunk of the tree, little holes on the inside of the trunk bark, and the bark seems to be lifting from the main trunk. Does it sound like I have a boring insect problem?
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
Where are the needles dropping from in the canopy of the tree? Out on the outer parts of the branches or in the inner parts of the branches?
The pupal casing you took a photo of looks like a lady beetle pupa.
While there could be some insect activity in the trunk, the holes look like they were made by woodpeckers - they were likely going after some insects, but it's impossible to know at this point. The tree did what it could to protect itself (the sap ooze).
Do you see any sawdust at the base of the tree?
Needle drop is also normal - like deciduous trees, pines and spruce will shed inner needles. Some years might have more needle shed than others, usually due to cultural, temperature, or environmental conditions. The needles that shed are in the inner part of the canopy - but the needles on the outside generally remain.
Hi, Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Unfortunately we seem to be losing the needles in both the interior and exterior of the tree (majority of them are from the interior of the tree), but both trees are becoming quite barren and sparse looking. You said that it looked like a lady beetle pupa in the picture, does that mean that it is a threat to the tree or just a typical bug? There seems to be a bit of sawdust at the base of the tree, but not large amounts. I have attached two additional pictures in the hopes that it might help with the identification of the problem.
Lady bugs are "good bugs" and not harmful to trees.
Unfortunately the resolution of the photos you sent are too small to zoom in - things get too pixelated. Could you take a new photo at a higher resolution? If it's easier to email me directly instead of using this system, my email is: <personal data hidden>
From what I can tell, it looks like most of the browning needles are still in the inner canopy - the tips of the branches look very green. But additional photos, so I can view the tree better, will be helpful. Thanks!
