Freshly cut stumps are usually preferred for breeding; large 
trees weakened by fire or other insects, or during naval stores 
operations, are also highly susceptible. Occasionally, perfectly 
healthy trees are infested. Attacks are usually confined to the 
lower 6 feet of the trunks of standing trees. Sometimes, though, 
they occur to a height of 12 feet. Infested trees are character- 
ized by large, reddish to whitish pitch tubes on the bark surface 
(fig. 89). They are also almost always invaded by ambrosia 
beetles. The presence of the ambrosia beetles is signified by piles 
of white sawdust around the base of the tree. 
Prior to about 1949, black turpentine beetle damage was con- 
fined largely to the killing of patches of bark on healthy pines. 
The first evidence of its widespread killing of trees occurred dur- 
ing an outbreak from 1949 to 1951 in Louisiana when several 
million board feet and several thousand cords of pulpwood were 
killed. Since then, severe infestations of slash, longleaf, and lob- 
lolly pine have been reported from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and east Texas. Losses in turpentine orchards have 
been severe. Heavily infested trees yield little resin and usually 
die within a few months. Losses of unprotected seed trees and in 
seed orchards also may be severe. 
Some degree of natural control, but usually not very much, is 
provided by other insects such as engraver beetles, borers, weev- 
ils, and termites which compete with the larvae for food. In low- 
lying areas, considerable brood mortality also occurs during peri- 
ods of flooding. Losses may be prevented or reduced by the avoid- 
ance of stand disturbance during logging operations or by the 
rapid salvage of infested trees. Where the salvage of infested 
F-519568 
FIGURE 89.—Pine tree at- 
tacked by the black tur- 
pentine beetle, Dendroc- 
tonus terebrans. Pitch 
tubes are reddish to white 
at first but soon assume a 
grayish hue. 
