Twig Beetles

Did you know that pinyon pine is the state tree of New Mexico? Widely spread throughout our wild woodlands, pinyon is also a frequent part of the urban treescape. It’s a tough survivor of a tree, and at the same time it has a lot of potential problems.

There are some pests that attack these native pines when the trees become drought stressed. Such trees attract beetles drawn by the chemical signature of a struggling tree. An example is bark beetles, those rice-grain sized gnawers that eat the vascular tissues of the trees, killing them. Take that tiny beetle and miniaturize it, and you have the twig beetle – see photo of adult beetle above.

Twig beetles look and act like miniscule bark beetles. However, instead of attacking the main trunk, they destroy vascular tissues in the small diameter twigs, typically twigs small enough to still have needles. Where the beetles feed, the needles dry out, turn tan and then drop off. The bark peels off in a powdery puff of tiny tunnels under the bark. The tree can look “frosted”, with the damage showing up somewhat randomly in the canopy. Left unchecked, the tree will be killed.

Twig beetles can be prevented with certain insecticides, though killing active infestations is very difficult. At Legacy Tree Company, we use injected chemicals to protect trees against boring insects, (if the trees are not pollinated by insects) along with judicious pruning of infested limbs. If you’re worried about your trees, give us a call!

Contact us to find out more about our Albuquerque tree removal services.