Pine borer in forest fragments of Plan de Guadalupe, Atlamajalcingo del Monte, Guerrero

Abstract

In recent years, in the temperate forests of the Montaña de Guerrero, pines with wilting, foliage yellowing, dry stems and some dead individuals have been observed, symptoms attributable to the attack of various organisms. The objective of this work was to identify the insects that cause damage to Pinus pseudostrobus Lindl., in pine forest fragments in the Plan de Guadalupe community, in addition to evaluate the level of infestation. Three 400 m² sites were established to record the number of pitch masses on the stem, the normal diameter and other symptoms to determine the level of damage of each individual. Larvae and pupae were collected for their taxonomic determination. The pine pitch moth or pine borer Synanthedon cardinalis was the insect present in the stem of living pine trees in the study community. This is the first record of the species in the community of Plan de Guadalupe and for the state of Guerrero. It was observed that the larvae produce pink pitch masses, in addition, as they grow, they form tunnels in the phloem and the cambium area. The infestation level of the three sites was 9.09 %. The average height of the location of the pitch masses was 70.9 cm and the average number of pitch masses was 2.81.