What is Blue Spruce White Pine Weevil?

Winter is coming and for the adult white pine weevil, that means settling in under dropped Blue spruce needles and whatever else might offer shelter. Since they typically winter near previously infested trees, the white pine weevil doesn’t have far to crawl or, if it’s warm enough, fly to the infested tree to mate in the spring. The mating ground also provides a feast for the white pine weevil, as they feed off the bark of branches. The damage continues when females chew small nests, called pits, into the bark to lay one or two eggs. One female can lay as many as 100 or more eggs. The weevil larvae continue to feed on the wood under the Blue spruce’s bark. They also tunnel further down the tree, cutting further into the wood to create a home base to mature. New adults then chew their way to the surface of the tree where they spend the summer eating small twigs off the tree. As winter once again approaches, the adults drop to the ground to start the cycle again.

Blue spruce white pine weevil has one generation per year. The larvae of white pine weevil are white, legless, and approximately 0.3 inch long when fully grown. Adults are brown, about 0.25 inch long, and covered with white and tan scales, arranged in large and small spots. According to the Colorado State University Extension, the white pine weevil’s endless destruction is “…almost entirely limited to higher elevation areas of the state and foothill areas,” but because the damage they cause is so extensive, property owners in lower altitudes are cautioned about their existence.

Blue Spruce White Pine Weevil Damage

• Growth reduction
• Stem deformation (shepherd’s crook’ )
• Increased susceptibility to wood decay organisms
• Tree death

We offer a variety of white pine weevil treatments:

• soil injections
• pruning
• insecticide application

If you have or suspect a white pine weevil infestation on your property, contact SprayTech, Colorado commercial and residential weed and tree spraying specialists, at 720-248-0000 to discuss treatment options.