Gouty pitch midge, Cecidomyia piniinopis,
 

Fig. 127 Maggots within branch swellings.	Fig. 128 Gouty pitch midge leader damage.

Tree Species Attacked: Primarily young, open-grown ponderosa and lodgepole pines are attacked.

Insect Description & Damage Symptoms: The adults are small, delicate flies that resemble mosquitoes. Damage is first noticeable in the summer, when fatally attacked new shoots fade in colour, droop, turn yellow, and die. Shoots are often not killed, but may be stunted and twisted, often making a sharp crook at the point of injury. When the bark is removed on the infested tip at the points of slight swellings (gouts), small resinous pockets reveal small, bright orange to red maggots. These maggots overwinter in pits under the bark.

Damage: Branch tips are stunted or twisted, and may occasionally be killed. When a terminal shoot is attacked, a deformity in the stem can result. Trees 1 to 5 m in height are most often affected.

Similar Damage:  Shoot boring larvae can cause the death or deformity of shoots. Investigation of the pith of the shoot will reveal mining by larvae, which distinguish them from the pitchy gouts just under the bark that indicate the gouty pitch midge.

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BC Ministry of Forests
Forest Practices Branch
P.O. Box 9513 Stn. Prov. Gov.
Victoria, BC
V8W 9C2

Section phone: (250) 387-8739
Section fax: (250) 387-2136

Last updated February 18, 2002