Pine Needle Scale – Chionaspis pinifoliae

Pine Needle Scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae)

Common Name: Pine Needle Scale

Latin Name: Chionaspis pinifoliae

Appearance:

In early spring, crimson, scarlet eggs are visible behind the female’s white waxy coating. The female’s waxy cover is about 3 mm long and white, with a yellow tip at the narrower front end. The male’s waxy coating is white and only 2 mm long. Adult males are little winged insects with one pair of wings and very few veins that resemble tiny parasitic wasps. This armoured-scale insect’s crawler stage is reddish.

Host plant:    

In the Northeast, there are several pine (Pinus) species, but predominantly mugo (P. mugo) and Scots (P. sylvestris) pines.

Territory:

Pine Needle Scale is commonly found in Canada and throughout North America.

Damages caused by Pine Needle Scale:

This species uses its piercing-sucking mouthparts to take plant juices from needles, causing them to become reddish brown. A severe infestation may result in decreased plant health, poor foliage, and the death of affected twigs. The foliage of heavily diseased trees may seem white-washed.

Life history and habits:

This pest spends the winter as a female and eggs behind the female’s waxy coat. Under each scale, up to 40 eggs may be discovered. These crawlers hatch mid-to late May and travel over the needles for a few days before settling down to eat. They secrete a distinctive waxy coating over their body after settling down. By early July, these scales usually are mature. Males emerge, mating with females and dying. In mid-July, the second generation of eggs is deposited, and these scales mature in September.