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. The presence of the overstory reduces moisture formation on the needles necessary for rust infections to occur. The worst practice is to manage young white pine in small openings, particularly at the bases of slopes and in low areas. Small is defined as openings with a diameter less than the height of surrounding trees. These openings collect cool air and have abundant dew formation, ideal conditions for rust infections to occur.