Infesting my mugo pine
April 23, 2010
April, 23, 2010 – I live in Toronto, ON Last week I notice bunch of flying bugs in my mugo pine, after careful examination I realised that they were all over the mugo. They like to get right into the pine needles and escially where the new candles are growing. When they fly the wings make a buzzing sound, they can be easily swatted away. I don’t want to lose my pine and was wondering how I could enticed them to move. I did my best with the attached picture it shows both the red-headed one and the black one. You insight is greatly appreciated.
TD in Toronto
Toronto, Ontario Canada
Dear TD,
We thought your insect resembled a Sawfly, so we searched through BugGuide and quickly found the False Pine Webworm, Acantholyda erythrocephala. The female has a reddish orange head and the male is black with a yellow face, a sexual dimorphism that is clearly represented on your photograph. BugGuide also indicates it is a: “Serious problem on white pine along east coast of U.S. Also in Ont, Alberta and Newfoundland. Introduced from Europe in 1925.” Though they are not mating, we are going to tag your image as Bug Love nonetheless.