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This pine tree plant disease is caused by the rhyacionia family of pine tip, or pine shoot moths. There are seven species which infest various pines across the country. Young trees may die from an infestation of pine tip moths.
Pine tip moth damage causes the branch tips of the pine tree to turn yellowish, then brown and eventually to dry out. The dead, dry branches are easily distinguished from the healthy, green foliage. Trees may appear bushy due to the accumulation of pitch around the dead pine needles. Trees may also appear crooked or otherwise distorted and the bases of th needles may appear brownish and have red to creamy brown coloured worms on them. The worms tend to be up to 3/4 inch long and feed on the tissue of the pine tree.
In mid spring, or occasionally late spring depending on geographic location, adult female tip moths lay their eggs at the ends of the pine branches. Then larvae hatch from the eggs and bore into the needles and buds of the pine tree where they feed and mature. Most species of tip moth produce only one generation each year, however in warm climates rhyancionia frustrana, also known as the Nantucket pine tip moth, can produce up to four or five generations each year.
At the first sign of infestation in early spring, prune the pine tree and destroy any visibly infested branches and twigs. In mid-May or June you should spray the infested pines with an insecticide that contains acephate. Respray again approximately two to three weeks later. If reinfestation still occurs, you are most likely dealing with the Nantucket tip moth, rhyanciona frustrana. In this case, you will need to spray every fourth week from late April to late August in order to kill off all generations of this pesky pine tree tip moth.
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