Best Conifer Pest
The Douglas fir pitch moth is a North American clearwing moth associated with conifer trees. Its larvae bore into the bark and tissues of host trees, where their feeding produces pitch and other visible damage. The species is significant in forestry because infestations can affect Douglas fir and ot...
Why this score?
Convincing mimicry and specialized conifer ecology provide interest, but resin damage and relatively plain appearance weaken its reputation.
Scoring methodology
The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a bark beetle native to western North America. It breeds beneath the bark of pine trees, including lodgepole, ponderosa, and jack pine, and can kill trees when populations become sufficiently large. The beetle carries blue-stain fungi into its ho...
The southern pine beetle is a small bark beetle native to the southeastern United States and parts of Mexico and Central America. It attacks pine trees by boring through the bark and producing galleries in the inner bark, disrupting the tree's transport tissues. Large populations can kill many trees...
The western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis) is a bark beetle native to western North America. It primarily attacks ponderosa pine, especially large or stressed trees, and breeds beneath the bark. Populations can increase during drought and other periods of tree stress, allowing infestations to...
The western spruce budworm is the moth species Choristoneura freemani, a tortricid native to western North America. Its larvae feed on the new foliage and reproductive structures of conifer trees, including spruce, fir, and Douglas fir, and heavy populations can defoliate large areas of forest. The...
Why this score?
Well-studied forest defoliator with major ecological impact; consensus recognizes importance but penalizes outbreak damage.
Scoring methodology
