Early in the summer, when budworms are feeding on new foliage, needles will be bound together at the tips with webbing.
Defoliation is most obvious in the upper crown and at branch tips.
Tree decline, topkill, and death may follow severe defoliation. Adult insects are orangish-brown triangular moths, a little less than an inch across. Egg masses on needles are pale green. Pupae are golden-brown. Eggs hatch in about 10 days.