Southern Pine Beetle - History

The southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann) is a serious pest of pines in the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. The southern pine beetle (SPB) kills conifers by boring under the bark and destroying the cambium layer of the tree. Trees are often mass attacked by thousands of individual southern pine beetles. Because populations can build rapidly to outbreak levels, large numbers of trees can be killed and forested ecosystems seriously affected. Infested areas may range from ten trees to several thousand acres. Large areas are often killed before land managers are aware of the beetles presence. The SPB can be found from northern Nicaragua to the United States, Maryland to Arizona. The most contiguous populations occur in the southern states especially in the range of shortleaf pine.  Most species of conifers are susceptible to attack during intense outbreaks. In the southern Appalachians, shortleaf, Virginia, pitch, table mountain, and eastern white pine are attacked (Price 1994).  Homogeneous pine stands are more susceptible than those mixed with hardwood and pine. Outbreaks in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia were recorded as early as the late 1700s and early 1800s. Beginning in the 1960s outbreaks were systematically surveyed and recorded. The worst southern pine beetle outbreak in the southern Appalachians since the 1960s occurred between in 1973 and 1976 (SAMAB 1996).  Based on the data collected since 1960, over 36.6 million cords of pine pulp and saw timber worth over $901 million dollars was destroyed.

SPB populations vary widely between years and are cyclic in nature, normally peaking in magnitude on roughly an eleven to fifteen year cycle.  Contact your local state or national forest service or local cooperative extension service county office for current SPB population information.