How do I determine whether it is the southern pine beetle or a different beetle infesting the tree?
• There are five different species of bark beetles which infest pine trees, either individually or in concert. To identify the species present we remove some bark and look at the size and shape of the beetles and their associated egg galleries. The southern pine beetle (SPB) is the smaller of the two beetles with rounded rear ends. It is about 1/8 inch long, about half the size of a grain of rice, while the larger black turpentine beetle (BTB) is about 1/4 to 3/8 inch long. The three Ips beetles all have scooped-out rear ends with small spines around the margin and range in length from 1/10 to 1/4 inches. Southern pine beetles make winding, intersecting egg galleries packed with boring dust. Black turpentine beetles start with a short horizontal gallery and then turn and tunnel downward toward the ground. Galleries of the Ips beetles are distinguished by 1 to 4 clean galleries prepared by females radiating out from the nuptial chamber made by the male where he attacked the tree.
