MDA Finds Pine Shoot Beetle in Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard Counties

Quarantine Expanded, Beetles Now Found in Nine Maryland Counties

ANNAPOLIS, MD (June  4, 2010) – Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard Counties are now part of the Pine Shoot Beetle Quarantine Area in Maryland, announced Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance today.  The Maryland Department of Agriculture this year continued its extensive statewide pine shoot beetle surveillance program and recently discovered the beetle in traps in these counties.  Nine Maryland counties are now quarantined under state and federal law.

“Maryland Department of Agriculture inspectors will continue their steadfast surveillance efforts and enforcement of the quarantine to protect our State’s forests, Christmas tree farms, nursery stock and pine lumber from the ravages of the pine shoot beetle,” said Secretary Hance. “Working with the affected industries, we will take all necessary steps in Maryland to limit the impact of this invasive pest.”

The pine shoot beetle is an exotic species from Europe.  It was first reported in the United States in 1992.  Since its discovery, the species has continued to steadily spread and has been found in nine Maryland counties since 1994: Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Montgomery and most recently Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard.  MDA’s Plant Protection and Weed Management Program is handling this situation under USDA protocols.

Local residents do not need to be concerned about the small one-eighth-inch long, black beetle, which lives in the shoots of pine trees during the summer months, and burrows into the bark of pine trees in winter.  The beetles become active and leave their overwintering sites in March and April to mate and lay eggs in dying or stressed pine trees, pine trees and stumps which have been recently cut, logs, and bark mulch.  The beetles do not harm wood in homes, or structures of any type.  They require live or very recently killed pine trees to feed and reproduce.

Damage caused by this pest is usually limited to killing terminal and lateral shoots approximately 4-6 inches in length on a tree. However, in larger numbers, the beetles can kill already stressed trees and may in fact weaken and kill healthy trees when populations are allowed to get extremely high.

The pine shoot beetle, an invasive species that stunts the growth of pine trees, was first discovered in the United States in Cleveland, Ohio.  It is believed to have entered the country in ships carrying infested dunnage.  It attacks new shoots of pine trees. It also can attack stressed pines by breeding under the bark at the base of the tree. The beetle can seriously harm the health of trees and even kill them when present in large enough numbers. The beetles prefer Scotch pines, but will feed and reproduce in most pine species.  While the beetle can seriously harm the health of pine trees, and even kill them, it can be managed using practices commonly applied for other pests in Christmas tree plantations and nurseries.  The beetles do not attack Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, Douglas-Fir, and Fraser Fir, which are commonly grown as Christmas trees.

Under state and federal quarantine law, cut pine Christmas trees, pine nursery stock, pine logs, stumps, and lumber with bark attached, and pine bark mulch are required to have an inspection certificate before they can be shipped from quarantined counties to non-quarantined counties.  Spruce, fir, hemlock and other species are not affected by the pine shoot beetle.  Christmas tree or pine nursery stock growers and pine timber product shippers should contact the Maryland Department of Agriculture Plant Protection and Weed Management section at 410 841-5920 for information on compliance and to arrange to be included in the Pine Shoot Beetle quarantine and management program.

Since 1992, the beetles have been detected in 16 states (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin).  Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris) is the principle host, but other pine species are susceptible.  Maturation feeding in pine shoots is the primary cause of damage to pines which results in reduced radial and height growth.

Anyone with questions about the Pine Shoot Beetle should contact MDA’s Plant Protection and Weed Management Section at 410-841-5920 or visit: www.mda.state.md.us/plants-pests/plant_protection_weed_mgmt.

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