SHORTLEAF PINE: IMPORTANCE AND MANAGEMENT. 95 
INSECTS. 
The southern pine beetle’ (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm.) has 
been the subject of exhaustive study by Dr. A. D. Hopkins, in West 
Virginia between 1891 and 1901 and in the Southern States from 
1902 to the present time. According to these investigations this insect 
has caused the death of millions of shortleaf and loblolly trees and 
some longleaf. The loss during the past 20 years due to this in- 
sect has been estimated at between 10 and 20 million dollars. From 
1890 to 1893 a serious invasion occurred in Virginia and West Vir- 
ginia. In the season of 1910 the trouble occurred in many places 
in the Southern States, leading to a special study and demonstration 
of methods of control by the Bureau of Entomology and the publica- 
tion of Farmers’ Bulletin 476, from which the recommendations for 
controlling the insect pest are quoted below because of their value and 
importance to owners of shortleaf stands. It is important, however, 
that all of Farmers’ Bulletin 476 be consulted in case of extensive 
or serious infestation. 
Evidences of infestation—(1) If in clumps or patches of pine, where there 
is no plain evidence of serious injury by fire, the foliage fades to pale green 
and changes to yellowish and pale brown, it indicates that the trees are dying 
from the attack of the southern pine beetle, and that the bark of such trees is 
infested with the developing broods of minute white grubs and transforming 
beetles; therefore such infested trees are a menace to the living trees. 
(2) If the trees have reddish brown and partially fallen foliage, or if all 
of the foliage has fallen, it indicates that the broods of beetles have emerged 
and that such trees are no longer a menace to the living ones. 
(3) If the trees die during the period between the 1st of March and the ist 
of October they will be abandoned by the broods of beetles within a few weeks 
after the foliage begins to fade. 
(4) If the trees begin to die during the period between the 1st of October and 
the 1st of December the broods of beetles will remain in the bark until the fol- 
lowing March or April. 
Essential details in methods of control—There are certain essential details 
in the recommended methods of combating the southern pine beetle which must. 
be observed in order to avoid not only serious mistakes but possibly ultimate 
failure: 
(a) The principal clumps or patches of dying trees which are actually in- 
fested by the broods of the destructive beetle, as indicated by the fading and 
dying foliage, or otherwise, should be located and marked during the months 
of November, December, January, and February. In order to do this work, 
proper experience or special instruction is required. Therefore some one who 
has had instructions should have charge of the work in each important area in 
which control work is to be undertaken. 
1‘**Report on Investigations to Determine the Cause of Unhealthy Conditions of the 
Spruce and Pine from 1880-1893,” Bulletin 56, West Virginia Agricultural Experiment 
Station, pp. 281-878, 1899, by A. D,. Hopkins, Entomologist. 
“The Southern Pine Beetle,’ Bulletin 83, Part I, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, pp. 56-72, 1909, by A. D. Hopkins. 
“The Dying Pine in the Southern States: Cause, Extent, and Remedy,’ Farmers’ Bul- 
letin 476, U. 8. Department of Agriculture, 15 pages, 4 figures, 1911, by A. D. Hopkins. 
6497°—Bull. 308-154 
