Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Evergreen Trees and Shrubs > Pine > Holes in trunk or branches
Pine > Trunk/Branches > Holes in trunk or branches
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Ips bark beetles
Ips spp..
- Adults bore numerous holes less than 1/8 inch diameter in bark which can resemble being shot by a BB gun or shot gun
- Entrance holes often have a reddish-brown, resin-soaked fine sawdust
- Larvae feed under bark
- Needles turn yellow and reddish-brown
- Adults are dark brown to black and range in size from about 1/8 to ¼ of an inch long
- Favors stressed pines of all species
- More information on Ips bark beetles
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Yellow bellied sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
- Evenly spaced holes in main stem, approximately ¼ inch, arranged in a linear or columnar pattern
- More information on Yellow bellied sapsucker
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Red turpentine beetle
Dendroctonus valens
- Pitch tubes present, i.e. small masses of pitch at entry hole pitch tubes, on lower 3 feet of trunk
- All pine species susceptible but favors stressed trees
- Adults reddish-brown, ¼ - 3/8 of an inch long
- More information on Red turpentine beetle
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Pine root collar weevil
Hylobius radicis
- Large amounts of pitch are exuded, darkening the root collar and nearby soil
- Discolored needles, from yellow to reddish-brown on entire tree
- Infested trees often tip due to feeding damage
- Most pine attacked; prefers pine growing on sandy soils with heavy grass competition
- Adults are ¼ inch long, reddish brown to black with whitish to yellowish spots (patches of scale); has conspicuous snout
- Larvae about ⅓ inch long, whitish and grub-like
- More information on Pine root collar weevil
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Pileated woodpecker damage
Dryocopus pileatus
- Single or multiple deep holes in trunk or branches
- Holes sometimes round, typically elongated, up to 12"
- Creates holes while foraging for carpenter ants
- Trees prone to wind breakage from weakened structure
- Attacks most mature tree species
- More information on Pileated woodpecker
