On July 1, 2004 Clinton, Essex, Rensselaer, Warren, and Washington in eastern New York were added to the 43 counties in New York under quarantine for pine shoot beetle. This is of concern because Rensselaer County is adjacent to Massachusetts.

The pine shoot beetle (Tomicus piniperda) is an exotic insect first discovered in the United States on a Christmas tree farm near Cleveland, Ohio in 1992. Since that time it has spread into twelve more states; Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The pine shoot beetle has been a target organism for the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) for several years and has never been found in Massachusetts. This summer CAPS is surveying again for the pine shoot beetle.

The pine shoot beetle feeds on all species in the genus Pinus with its preferred host being Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris). Adult beetles feed inside the new shoots stunting the growth of pine trees. Damaged shoots flag (droop), turn yellow, and eventually turn brown & fall off the tree. Damaged shoots will have a round entrance hole (2-3 mm in diameter) surrounded by pitch. For photos of the beetle and the damage it causes read the fact sheet at: http://www.massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/pineshootbeetle.html
If you suspect you have seen damaged cause by the pine shoot beetle, you can report it on the MA Introduced Pests website or call the plant pests and noxious weed hotline (617) 626-1779.

The pest alert is from the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project, a collaborative project between the Massachusetts DAR and the UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program aimed at preventing the establishment of new pathogens and pests in Massachusetts. Visit the project website (http://www.massnrc.org/pests) for more information on Pine Shoot Beetle and other emerging pests or to subscribe and unsubscribe for pest alerts.