Tree pest

Black Turpentine Beetle

KillerSeriousManageableMostly cosmetic

The largest bark beetle in the Southeast. It attacks the base and lower trunk of stressed pines. A light attack kills patches of inner bark and the tree can live. Repeated attacks over several generations kill it.

Pitch tubesBoring dustFading crown

Trees it affects: Slash pine, All Florida pines

Report a concern Request an assessment

Affects: Slash pine, All Florida pines
When it shows: Year-round. Buildup can run months to years after a hurricane, flooding or root disturbance.
What we do first: Count the pitch tubes against the trunk diameter in inches.

Report a concern

What you see

Signs in the field

Pitch tubes up to 5 cm (about 2 inches) across, whitish to reddish, low on the trunk
Usually below 3 m (about 10 feet), sometimes to 5 m (about 16 feet) on large trees, and on large roots
Reddish-brown boring dust and resin pellets at the holes and at the root flare
A hole in the center of a tube, the sign of a successful attack
Dried tubes with no boring dust, which can mean the tree pitched the beetle out
Under the bark: a straight gallery about 1 cm (0.4 inch) wide and 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) long, with a fan-shaped patch of feeding larvae

Often confused with

Ips engraver beetles Pitch cankerSouthern pine coneworm

The survival rule

The Florida Forest Service rule of thumb: a pine with fewer pitch tubes than its trunk diameter in inches might survive, and protecting it from further attack may be worthwhile.

What sets it up

Wind damage, flooding, root disturbance and soil fill over pine roots. After a hurricane, buildup can run months to years.

How to tell it apart

Ips tubes are smaller and higher on the tree. The southern pine coneworm leaves large, milky resin masses at a wound that keep flowing for months, with no clean center hole.

What we do

How Ptolemy handles it

Field condition first, then the recommendation. Treatment, removal and diagnosis calls are made by an ISA Certified Arborist, and the serious ones are confirmed in a lab.

Written down before it is neededThis is covered by our pine bark beetle protocol.

A field check of tube size, height and count, with boring dust at the root flare and a look under a bark flap.
Suspected until our certified arborist confirms it on site.
Where the survival rule says a pine may live, a bark spray on the base, up to 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 m), on our certified arborist’s call. Never near ponds.
Pines that are losing, and that could fall on people or property, are removed and the debris cleared.
No soil fill over pine roots, and no fertilizer on pines.

Next step

Seeing black turpentine beetle on your property?

ReadThe written protocolThe trigger, the steps in order, and what you get in hand.ReportReport a concernSend a photo and where it is. A photo is a reason to look, not a diagnosis.RequestThe free master planWe map every palm and tree and write one 10-year plan, with an estimated budget each year.

Or call (239) 467-0142. The serious calls are confirmed in a lab before anyone acts.

FAQ

Questions about black turpentine beetle

Will a pine with pitch tubes die?

Not always. If it has fewer tubes than its trunk diameter in inches, it might survive, and protecting it may be worthwhile. Repeated attacks are what kill.

What brought the beetles in?

Stress. Storm damage, flooding, root disturbance and soil piled over roots are the usual set-ups.

Built on

Our own field records, our written specs, and these public references:

Florida Forest Service Leaflet 4, Black Turpentine Beetle
UF/IFAS EENY356/IN636, Black Turpentine Beetle
Florida Forest Service Leaflet 14, Insecticides for Bark Beetle Management

Keep reading