Older cankers often exude resin. In early spring, orange-yellow, powdery masses of spores are produced on cankers. Weevil New weevil attacks become visible in early July when the terminal shoot suddenly wilts. Within a week or two the needles of the current emerging terminal, its laterals and the previous years terminal turn brown-red in color. This feeding injury is significant and kills everything above the injury, thus killing the new terminal as well.
Dead terminals remain on trees for years although they are eventually reduced to a stub.
Loss of the terminal results in one or more lateral branches taking over dominance of the tree. This leads to a noticeable crook in the main stem or forked stems, which reduces the commercial value of the sawlog and aids in the identification of older attacks for many years. They overwinter in the needle layer, generally beneath the tree they emerged from. Female weevils lay eggs in terminals early the following spring. The best silvicultural practice to reduce losses from blister rust is to manage young white pine under an existing overstory.