Southern Pine Beetle

[mandolin]

I have 65 acres of mixed hardwood and pine in south Mississippi. I've found several big pines on my place that have the little knots of sap around the outside of the bark. My question is, when I cut these trees, do I need to cut the trees around it and if so, how far out do I need to cut to stop the advance of the beetles? Also, do I need to pile and burn the tops or is it safe to just leave them on the ground?

[Magicman]

I'll say Welcome to the Forestry Forum, and wait for the experts to answer your question.  But what you seem to be describing is not "Southern Pine Beetle" damage.

[Texas Ranger]

You could have southern pine beetle, Ips Engraver beetle, or Black Turpentine Beetle, all produce white pitch tubes on the bark.  This late in the year I suspect the needles are gone from the trees, and the bark may be slipping.  If so, there are no residual beetles.  Identifying the beetles you had amounts to looking at the tracks between the bark and wood, or location of the pitch tubes.

As far as cutting trees around these trees, look around first.  Are there dead twigs or limbs on surrounding trees?  Are there any pitch tubes on the surrounding trees, look up in the crown for some as well.  Is there reddish sawdust in bark cracks or at the base of the tree?

Burning the tops, no.  Cut them to lay flush with the ground and let nature take its course.

Check with the forest service for insect ID book and check out what you have. 

I would think that at this time of the year you are safe, but start looking a green up.

This is from a Texas forester that worked beetles for 40 years, your mileage may very.  You must remember that a foresters first statement is "it depends". 

Photos would help.

[caveman]

The three beetles that Texas Ranger mentioned all leave a unique mark which can be seen on the underside of the bark.  If the bark is not slipping yet, you can take a sharp putty knife and cut/pry off a chunk of bark.  The galleries that the beetles make can help you to i.d. which beetle/beetles are eating your trees.  The Black Turpentine Beetle will create vertical and capital D shaped galleries with smaller fan or alluvial shapes coming off of them.  The Black Turpentine pitch tubes usually occur on the bottome 6' of the trunk and they are usually larger than a piece of popcorn.  A good rule of thumb on black turpentine beetles is that if you have more pitch tubes than the diameter of the tree in inches, the tree is doomed.  The Black Turpentine Beetle is the largest of the bark beetles (maybe 3/8" long).

Ips, usually initially attack trees from where the btb stops to about 20' feet up and then get into the whole tree.  They have a (scooped out butt) and make "Y and h" shaped galleries and have smaller pitch tubes than the btb.

The Southern Pine Beetle is the smallest of the bark beetles and makes smaller pitch tubes--usually about the size of a pencil eraser or slightly larger.  Their galleries are "S" shaped, resembling spaghetti noodles randomly spread on the underside of the bark. 

All of these little creatures thrive when trees are stressed.  Drought can really stress them. 

[mandolin]

Thanks, Caveman. We had a bad drought here in S. Mississippi this summer. I forgot to mention that the other trees are still alive and have knots of hardened sap on the bark up about four feet.

[WDH]

Sounds like black turpentine beetle.  They will not always kill the tree.  This late in the year, I would not get too aggressive.  They usually only kill a tree here and there versus devastating all the trees on an acre or so.  If the tree lives thru the winter, you are likely OK.  Watch it.  If it is already dead or dying and the other surrounding trees look OK, then again, just watch carefully to see if their needles brown out.  If not, don't go cutting down everything in sight.  Drought stresses individual trees or small groups of trees, and the beetles seek these out.  Most times, the spots die out on their own. 

[Woodwalker]

Last year during a dry spell I cut over two dozen Ips killed Loblolly from around the house. This year things were fine till it turned off dry again, to date I've cut another five so far. We got some rain this week so I hope the bugs have run their course this year. 
A State Forester told us most all of the beetle infestations in this  area in the twenty or so years has been the Ips beetle. Guess it doesn't matter much, they all kill the trees just as dead.

[Texas Ranger]

Yup, all three Ips have been bad after Ike, a little wind damage and the little buggers went wild.

1986 was the bell weather year for SPB, some of the largest loss of timber ever recorded, been down ever since.  If Rita and Ike didn't bring on the SPB's we don't have many anymore.

In the 60's and '70's I fought beetles till I thought they were the new Hun invasion.  We had 11 counties to look over, and ground checked from the Gulf to the Neches River.  We were flying one week a month, and ground checking three weeks.  LONG weeks.

[WDH]

In order of virulence, the SPB is the real bad boy, capable of killing acres and acres at a time in a beetle tidal wave.  Ips are next.  They usually attack the top half the tree in the crown.  They usually kill trees in isolated spots or groups, but usually do not develop the destructive tidal wave.  Black turpentine is the least virulent, usually killing individual trees in a very scattered pattern. 

Like TR said, be glad the SPB's are not back in force.  We can stand the Ips, but beware the SPB.