Dioryctria zimmermani

Lepidoptera: Pyralidae

Identification
• The larva is brownish to greenish with dark brown spots and is up to ³/₄" long.

Damage
• The larva tunnels into the trunk and branches causing masses of whitish pitch to form where the branches join the trunk and in branch crotches.
• Repeated attacks may cause branches to die or the top to break out of the tree. The tree usually survives but is  shorter and multi-trunked.
• The moth attacks Scotch, Austrian, and other pines.
• It occasionally is found as a borer in the branch tip.

Management
• Avoid trunk and major branch damage by growing less susceptible pines such as eastern white pine.
• Spray insecticide on the trunk and larger branches in late August and early April.
• Accept a shorter, multi-trunked tree rather than a tall, narrow one in your landscape.