The common pine shoot beetle , has been known as a pest of conifers in Europe and Asia for many years. Feeding causes death of shoots, loss of vigor and slowing of growth, a serious hazard to the timber industry. First discovered in North America in July of 1992, it has been most frequently reported on Austrian and Scots pine. Adult insects are roughly cylindrical and 3-5 mm long with shiny black heads and wing covers ranging from reddish brown to black. They resemble other common native bark beetles so positive identification should be made by trained experts.
Adults spend the winter in the lower stems.
In the spring, they emerge and crawl or fly to nearby dead or dying pines where they mate and lay eggs beneath the bark. Eggs hatch, and the larvae remain under the bark to feed for 6-8 weeks and then pupate. Hungry adults emerge, and maturation feeding is done in young shoots of pines. Each insect makes a hole 2-3 mm in diameter in the bark, as a point of entry into the shoot, and mines the tissue within for up to 10 cm. When damage is sufficient to cause wilt of a shoot, the insect may lose interest in it and find another.