Nantucket Pine Tip Moth

The Nantucket Pine Tip Moth can be a serious pest of loblolly pine trees. Slash pines are somewhat resistant and longleaf pines are practically immune to attack. The Nantucket pine tip moth is most damaging to pine plantations and wild pine seedlings in open areas. It poses an ever-increasing problem because of forestry trends that favor the establishment of large areas of pine plantations. In such areas, Nantucket pine tip moth damage may be very common.

The tip moth larvae kill the growing shoots of young pines as they bore into the new shoot growth and feed on the inner tissues until all conductive tissues have been severed. Pine species with multi-nodal growth are especially good hosts for the tip moths because they put out new shoots and the emerging moths easily find an ideal spot to lay eggs.

In severe and prolonged infestations, trees less than three feet in height can be killed by larval feeding. However, the greatest economic damage and loss occurs when height growth is retarded and/or the main stems are deformed. Research has demonstrated that losses are significant. In some areas, virtually every shoot may be killed and no new growth occurs. If tree vigor is poor, crooks and forks may also develop.

Thankfully, shoot injury occurs primarily during the first three to five years and decreases as the trees approach crown closure.