This is probably the work of a pine weevil. Its preferred hosts appear to be red and Scotch pines, but it also attacks eastern white, pitch, mugho, and Austrian pines, and red, black, and white spruces. The adults feed on the bark of their hosts, sometimes killing branchlets or terminals, or interferes with the process of reproduction. These weevils breed beneath the surface of the bark on recently cut stumps and logs, and on the main stems or branches of dead or dying trees. Attacks occur on the tree from the roots up to branches as small as 2 inch in diameter.
Attacks also occur at the root collar and on the lower stems of apparently healthy young trees.
Larval tunneling in the cambial region results in decreased vigor and death of infested portions on the entire tree. Damage is often severe in regions where there are large quantities of breeding material, such as fresh stumps in Christmas tree plantations and in stands under intensive management. Because of the scarcity of breeding material in natural pine stands, damage there is of little consequence. The importance of pine weevils in the containerized ornamental conifer industry is just being recognized in the Northeast. This stock is often stressed and provides an excellent microenvironment for these weevils.