Southern Pine Beetle

The southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann) is one of pine's most destructive insect enemies in the Southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Because populations build rapidly to outbreak proportions and large numbers of trees are killed, this insect generates considerable concern among managers of southern pine forests. The beetle occurs from Pennsylvania to Texas and from New Mexico and Arizona to Honduras (fig. 1). Periodic outbreaks commonly recur in fairly well-defined areas. During one outbreak in the Southern States in 1973-77, the southern pine beetle killed the equivalent of about 4.5 billion board feet of pine timber. Average annual tree mortality may exceed the equivalent of 100 million board feet of sawtimber and 20 million cubic feet of growing stock.