Common name: Pine shoot beetle
Scientific name: : Tomicus piniperda
Order: Coleoptera
Affects: Pine of Pinus pinaster, P. sylvestris, P.radiata and P. uncinata.
Main season: Autumn, Winter and Spring
The Tomicus genus is composed of seven species of Coleoptera from the subfamily Scolytinae (Curculionidae). They cause damage to species of the Pinus, Abies, Larix and Picea genus. They are distributed throughout most of the Palearctic region since their first appearance in North America in the 1990s.
The Tomicus piniperda species attacks P. pinaster, P. sylvestris and especially P. nigra.
Pines affected by Tomicus sp.
T. piniperda can measure between 4 and 5 mm long. It has a black head and thorax and the elytrons are dark brown. Oviposition takes place in the maternal galleries, in incisions under the bark on both sides of the gallery. The eggs are white and round. The number of eggs that the females lay can vary between 20 and 50. The larvae are apodous, curved and whitish. They have brown cephalic capsules. The pupae always grow at the end of the larval galleries.
Physical appearance of Tomicus piniperda
© Diego Gallego Cambronero
T. piniperda is a monogamous species, in which the female creates the first colony by boring a hole that leads to a chamber under the bark. It is slightly wider and is known as the nuptial chamber. The female creates the gallery whilst the male removes the sawdust, as well as preventing the resin secreted by the pine tree from blocking the gallery. The female lays the eggs in niches inside the maternal gallery.
T. piniperda galleries carved into the bark
Exit holes created by the adults
As a rule, T. piniperda lays the eggs during the first weeks of March up to August. Therefore, the T. piniperda period of attack on tree trunks is much shorter than the T. piniperda period. After the young emerge, from July to December, they fly to the crown of the trees to feed just like T. piniperda.
With the arrival of the cold weather, the adults take refuge in the roughness of the thick bark. They remain there throughout winter until the beginning of their flight period in March.
The Tomicus genus produces two types of damage: galleries under the bark of the tree trunks and thick branches; and galleries in the twigs or crowns. The attack in the crowns is irrelevant, given that the trees they attack have enough strength to regenerate their losses. However, the attacks in the tree trunk are always deadly. Through the maternal galleries and most of the larval galleries fungus is introduced, which deteriorates the phloem of the gallery perimeter. Furthermore, whilst the larvae are feeding, a mechanical destruction is produced in the phloematic canals.
Adult Tomicus piniperda perforating a shoot
Branchlets perforated by T.piniperda and blown down by the wind
Volcano of resin
They go for trees or sections of trunk, with bark that is neither too thin nor too thick. They do not tend to attack reforested trees. The trees that have been attacked are easily identified because of the volcanoes of yellow resin that surround the entrance holes. On occasion, trees with rejected attacks can be found alive, but with volcanoes of resin.
They prefer to reproduce in trees that are in the initial stages of decline, mainly due to lack of water, competition with other trees and mechanical or fire damage.
In the absence of occasional damages, such as fires or drought, the trees that are at most risk of attack are found in thin, poor soil with scarcely any rain and too many trees per ha. Frequent attacks on very old trees (more than 80 years) have also been detected, possibly linked to the trees aging. Another risk factor is the forest work involved in clearing and extracting trees. In some cases, attacks have been registered in healthy trees.
Special attention must be paid to the periods of intense and prolonged drought, as they influence Tomicus sp. attacks.
Abandoned wood from forest work is the perfect material for Tomicus piniperda to reproduce and once the population density has reached high levels, it could become a real threat for other trees and forests. Regarding the pest situation, at first the dead trees appear to be alone or in a small circular areas. The pest populations grow rapidly and the outbreaks change into continuous stains, more spread out every time.
Visual diagnosis is based on the presence of volcanoes of yellow resin in the tree trunks and thick branches. Normally, this symptom is detected after the crown suddenly turns yellow. By removing the bark, the presence of the species is confirmed. This discolouration is produced in advanced stages of infestation, when the parent and part of the offspring generation have already abandoned the host.
This makes controlling it more difficult, as the treatments for cutting down and debarking a tree are partly effective, by working solely on the part of the offspring population and practically nothing on the parental population. In very weak or cut down trees no volcanoes of resin form, so diagnosis can only be carried out by debarking the trees and identifying the galleries.
There are two types of damage, with different management methods.
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE, in forests. The following grades of damage have been suggested:
Grade 0: Stand with some dead trees. It is possible to find rejected attacks.
Grade 1: Stand with dispersed dead trees.
Grade 2: Stand with dead trees and some small dispersed circular areas.
Grade 3: Stand with clear evidence of large or many small circular areas tending towards mass mortality.
Grade 4: Mass mortality.
LOCALISED DAMAGEin public areas, such as parks and gardens.
Grade 0: Some dead trees and rejected attacks in other trees.
Death of less than half of the trees.
Extensive damage, grade 1
Localised damage, grade 2
Extensive damage, grade 2
Extensive damage, grade 2
In forests 1 CROSSTRAP® MINI should be placed every 20 ha, separated at least 1000 m from each other. In surfaces less than 20 ha, at least one trap should be placed per stand or forest. The traps should be placed in areas with good visibility, such as forest borders, forest trails or fire-breaks. Windy areas should be avoided, as the wind complicates the insects’ flight and could damage the traps. A detection trap system should cover the environmental variability of the monitored forest.
As a rule, traps should be placed and active between mid-September and mid-April. These periods of time could be shorter in years with the beginning of autumn and spring being very warm.
Phenology of Tomicus piniperda
For monitoring, wet captures are recommended as they allow for the precise identification of the captures. For this purpose, fill the collection cups with 10 ml of diluted propylene glycol (10 to 20%), or with antifreeze for the car. This liquid is used for killing the captured insects as well as preserving them. It must not be dissolved too much with the rainwater, in which case it should be replaced. It is recommended to collect the captured insects at least every 15 days.
Example of installation of traps for the DETECTION AND MONITORING of T. piniperda in a forest area of 1500 ha. 35 traps are placed following forest trails and free-breaks with a distance of 1000 m between traps
In forests
For exhaustive monitoring, the traps should be placed between 100 and 500 metres apart from each other in forest trails, fire-breaks or forest borders.
This means a density of 0.3 to 3 CROSSTRAP® MINI per ha. They can also be placed inside the forest, as long as it is not too dense. Dry captures are recommended for exhaustive monitoring using the slippery collection cup with a stainless steel mesh on the base. The collection cup stops the bark beetles from escaping because they cannot climb out due to the slippery product, although it allows the entrance and exit of the predator Thanasimus formicarius, which devours the captured insects. In this way, the impact of the trap system on useful fauna is minimal.
Example of installation of traps for the EXHAUSTIVE MONITORING of T. piniperda in a forest area of 1500 ha. 55 traps are placed following forest trails and free-breaks with a distance of 500 m between traps.
In parks, gardens and residential areas
The management of Tomicus in parks and gardens presents some peculiarities that differentiate it from management in forest environments. The biggest risk of attack in ornamental trees is caused by mechanical damage. Work involving excavation around the trees, more or less severe, destroys the roots and often causes a weakening that facilitates the attacks by Tomicus. In general, ornamental trees are not very vulnerable to attacks by Tomicus, provided that they maintain the same conditions that they grew in. Sometimes, placing or removing irrigation systems in garden areas can provoke attacks from these insects.
The control of Tomicus in these situations must be very effective, as it is about reducing the mortality rate of the trees to zero. Therefore, efforts should be made to intensify trapping to the maximum. This means a density of 3 CROSSTRAP® MINI per ha, that should be controlled each week.
Example of installation of traps for MONITORING Tomicus piniperda,an urban area with the presence of pine trees in publics parks (0.8 ha). 4 traps are placed in selected areas
To attract Tomicus piniperda, ECONEX TOMICUS PINIPERDA 60 DAYS 1 UNIT kairomone diffusers must be used, which will be hung on the CROSSTRAP® MINI trap using one of the lateral openings found on one of the sides of the trap.
ECONEX TOMICUS PINIPERDA 60 DAYS 1 UNIT consists of two diffusers of kairomonal attractant designed to attract males and females of Tomicus piniperda + 2 clip-style hangers to hang the diffusers on the trap.
The diffusers are in blister pack form, with a 60-day duration in field, and are individually packaged in aluminium sachets with a specification label. Once removed from the packs, the diffusers do not require any activation operation, nor do they need to be opened. They simply need to be properly placed in the trap.
packaging and diffuser A
packaging and diffuser B
ECONEX TOMICUS PINIPERDA 60 DAYS
Kairomone diffusers for the attraction of both sexes of the species Tomicus piniperda, with a duration of 60 days in normal field conditions.
Code: UIPHOVA188
OMDF register number (Ministry of Agriculture of Spain): 149/2013
For its correct functioning, it is recommended to use it with the CROSSTRAP® MINI trap, a state-of-the-art trap to catch coleopteran insects during flight. This trap has been developed in an R&D project (University of Murcia - ECONEX) with the aim of developing traps and attractants for forest insects.
These traps consist of a polypropylene lid with a central carabiner attached to a stainless-steel spring and two reinforced PVC sheets anchored at the top to the lid by four stainless steel springs that serve as shock absorbers against strong winds, thus helping to avoid damage to the trap. At the bottom, the reinforced PVC sheets are attached by steel springs to a removable polypropylene funnel with a 30 cm diameter. At the end of the funnel lies the container for holding the captured insects.
The sheets, the funnel and the collector are treated with a slippery product that considerably increases the catches and prevents them from escaping.
The funnel is made of polypropylene, 30 cm in diameter, and consists of two equal halves that can be easily assembled.
The trap can be operational for up to 10 years, due to its high-strength construction and components. The unfolded trap measures 33 cm in diameter by 106 cm in height.
The trap can be used with two types of collector: CROSSTRAP® WET COLLECTION CUP (with slider) 1L for wet catches, and CROSSTRAP® DRY COLLECTION CUP (with slider) for dry use or live catches.
CROSSTRAP® MINI WITH WET COLLECTION CUP (with slider)
Trap for coleopteran insect interception during flight.
Code: UIPFETA226
OMDF register number (Ministry of Agriculture of Spain): 153/2013
CROSSTRAP® MINI WITH DRY COLLECTION CUP (with slider)
Trap for coleopteran insect interception during flight.
Code: UIPFETA204
OMDF register number (Ministry of Agriculture of Spain): 153/2013
The CROSSTRAP® WET COLLECTION CUP (with slider) 1 L for retaining captured insects is located at the bottom of the funnel. It has a capacity of approximately 1 litre (11 cm diameter x 13.5 cm high).
The CROSSTRAP® DRY COLLECTION CUP (with slider) is designed to hold the captured insects is located at the bottom of the funnel. It has a capacity of approximately 1 litre (11 cm diameter x 13.5 cm high) and is fitted with a stainless-steel mesh at the bottom to allow rainwater to drain away.
Wet catches allow precise identification of the captures. For this purpose, it is recommended to fill the collector with 10 ml of 10 or 20 % diluted propylene glycol or, if necessary, car antifreeze. This liquid serves both as a kill agent and as a preservative, as long as it is not diluted too much by rain, in which case it should be replaced.
CROSSTRAP® WET COLLECTION CUP (with slider) 1 L
Wet catch collector located at the bottom of CROSSTRAP® traps.
Code: UIPFETA311
CROSSTRAP® DRY COLLECTION CUP (with slider)
Trap collector for dry use, or live traps, located at the bottom of the CROSSTRAP® traps.
Code: UIPFETA157
CROSSTRAP® DRY COLLECTION CUP
View from below
ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS
To improve the biocontrol of these beetles, ECONEX has ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS. Its use is recommended for the protection of individual pines at risk in parks, gardens or domestic outdoor gardening, as well as singular and preserved pines.
ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS
Tomicus repellent diffuser with a duration of 120 days.
Code: UIPHOVA308
The repellent should always be used under the ‘push and pull’ strategy, using repellents and traps baited with attractants together, in such a way that the repellent pushes the Tomicus away from the pine trees, and they are attracted to the traps.
A repellent diffuser should be placed every 4 m linearly from the trunk, up to the appearance of thin bark. Diffusers should be installed by nailing them to knots or other areas of dead pine wood.
Diagram of ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS diffusers being installed and protecting a tree about 20 m high.
Example of installing repellents and traps to protect individual trees against Tomicus piniperda in gardens. The distance between the trap and the tree with repellents is 50 m.
In forests, the number of traps is determined by the area to be covered and by the network of roads, firebreaks or accessible forest edges. For exhaustive monitoring, trap densities of between 0,1 and 0,3 CROSSTRAP® MINI traps per hectare is recommended, separated between 100 and 500 linear metres, for which we recommend the use of a GPS during installation.
In parks, gardens, recreational areas, domestic outdoor gardening or small forest areas ( <5 ha ), trap densities can be greatly increased up to 3 CROSSTRAP® MINI traps per hectare.
In these locations, the death of just one tree is shocking enough to intensify trapping, so that as many insects as possible are captured.
The diffusers must be stored in their original packaging in a cool and dry place and separated from food and drinks.
ECONEX TOMICUS PINIPERDA 60 DAYS diffusers . 1 pc. It must be kept in its container and in the refrigerator at 4ºC or in the freezer at 18ºC, in which case they will remain valid for 90 and 150 days respectively.
ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS must be stored in the refrigerator at 4ºC or in the freezer at 18ºC, in which case they will remain valid for 2 and 4 years respectively.
ECONEX TOMICUS PINIPERDA 60 DAYS
Corrugated cardboard box of 100 units.
Box size: 0.40 x 0.60 x 0.35 m (length x width x height).
Box weight: 23.5 kg.
No. of boxes per pallet: 20
Pallet size: 0.80 x 1.20 x 1.95 m (length x width x height).
Pallet weight: 477 kg.
Pack of 100 units
Box of 100 units.
(20 packs x 5 units)
ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS
Corrugated cardboard box of 200 units.
Box size: 0.40 x 0.60 x 0.35 m (length x width x height).
Box weight: 17.5 kg.
No. of boxes por pallet: 20
Pallet size: 0.80 x 1.20 x 1.95 m (length x width x height).
Pallet weight: 357 kg.
Pack of 100 units.
Box of 200 units.
(20 packs x 10 units)
CROSSTRAP® MINI WITH WET COLLECTION CUP (with slider)
Corrugated cardboard box of 8 units.
Box size: 0.60 x 0.80 x 0.48 m (length x width x height).
Box weight: 11.30 kg.
No. of boxes por pallet: 8
Pallet size: 0.80 x 1.20 x 2.05 m (length x width x height).
Pallet weight: 100 kg.
Box of 8 units.
CROSSTRAP® MINI WITH DRY COLLECTION CUP (with slider)
Corrugated cardboard box of 8 units.
Box size: 0.60 x 0.80 x 0.48 m (length x width x height).
Box weight: 11.30 kg.
No. of boxes por pallet: 8
Pallet size: 0.80 x 1.20 x 2.05 m (length x width x height).
Pallet weight: 100 kg.
Box of 8 units.
ECONEX CATALOGUE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR FOREST PESTS
Catalogue in PDF format with 94 pages. An essential reference book about the biological behaviours of the main forest insect populations. It also includes solutions from ECONEX to solve the problems caused by these insects through the use of traps and specific attractants.
Download the catalogue by clicking on the image.
ECONEX PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR FOREST PESTS LEAFLET
The leaflet can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the image.
ECONEX TOMICUS REPELLENT 120 DAYS. “Push – pull” strategy”
The leaflet can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the image.
ECONEX GREEN AREAS LEAFLET
Leaflet in PDF format that can be downloaded by clicking on the image.
www.greenareas.e-econex.eu
ECONEX LEARNING CENTER
ECONEX puts at your disposal the first open knowledge center that brings together everything necessary to implement pest biocontrol in your crops. We have developed different types of resources to share with you the knowledge we have acquired during our more than 38 years of experience. Each of them is designed to respond, in the best possible way, to different questions related to pheromones, attractants, repellents and insect traps.
To access ECONEX LEARNING CENTER click on the image.
SANIDAD AGRÍCOLA ECONEX, S.L. only guarantees the composition, formulation and content of the products, taking responsibility for the direct, immediate and exclusive damages caused in the composition, formulation and content of the products sold. SANIDAD AGRÍCOLA ECONEX, S.L. will not be held responsible for damages produced by factors beyond the company’s control that have either totally or partially contributed. For instance, the weather conditions, usage or mixing with other products, amongst others. In addition, SANIDAD AGRÍCOLA ECONEX, S.L. will provide recommendations and information supported by extensive and meticulous research and tests; which must be taken into account by the customer when using the products. The customer will be responsible for any damage caused, in whole or in part, for the total or partial non-observance of the instructions provided. Furthermore, the customer will be responsible for all that is referred to as the performance of the products; which comes from total or partial non-observance of the instructions and information provided by the company.