Ips Engraver Beetles Ips engraver beetles are among the most common bark beetles found in red-topped pines, but typically, are purely secondary invaders. Three species occur in Alabama. The Ips male initiates the attack and is subsequently joined in the inner bark by one to several females. Trees attacked by Ips are weak and low in vigor, consequently, pitch tubes seldom form at entrance holes. In the inner bark, females construct long narrow individual galleries that run with the grain of the wood.
Females lay eggs in niches along the sides of the galleries.
New adults emerge through the bark leaving numerous holes. Ips , like southern pine beetle, introduce blue stain into trees they attack. Other Insects Associated With Red-Topped Pines Dying, freshly cut, and recently killed pines are attractive to many species of insects which have nothing to do with the death of the trees. These insects are there simply because such trees provide them with preferred food and ideal breeding sites. Characteristically, these insects are not found in living trees, thus their presence is an indication of tree mortality.