There are caterpillars that eat not only the leaves, they absorb pine needles. More and more summer residents decorate their plots with coniferous plantations. An ornamental tree is at risk over time - sometimes it acquires granules of brown color. Such an addition soon turns into crawling caterpillars that spoil the branches of the tree.
Let's learn about methods of saving needles from a sloppy look.
Caterpillar on the pine: description and life cycle of the pest
Even small-sized pests of pine can cause damage to the largest tree. When you first form clusters with brown capsules, sound the alarm! Soon the saw-saw caterpillars are occupying the pine tree. Capsules ripen their larvae.
Did you know? The pest got its name due to some peculiarities of the egg laying process - a special organ (ovipositor) places them under the epidermal layer of the trunk or foliage, “cutting through” the tissues of the occupied plant. Mature individuals often resemble flies, so they are easily confused with these insects in appearance.
Before starting treatment, it is advisable to correctly identify the variety of needles on the pine. Red Sawfly - the larvae are dirty green and black, with a flat head. They live in groups. Feeling the slightest anxiety, they react by raising the front of the body. These are the most dangerous sawflies, striking mature needles. 
Silkworm pine literally in a short time leads to the death of coniferous plantations. Coniferous trees are defeated in the height of summer pine cone. These caterpillars spoil the cones on the pine, leaving excrement and resinous stencils. The pest is the most dangerous for the seeds.
Pine moth - butterflies that lay their eggs on the old pine needles in straight lines. At the end of the first month of summer, caterpillars emerge from the eggs, which soon absorb needles and buds. Abundant reproduction of moths can even lead to the complete drying of the tree.
In the European part of our country, pine needles can spoil several species of caterpillars simultaneously. Common and red pine sawflies are more common. Occasionally, eastern sawflies and pine pale yellow pests are found. They are similar to each other in the degree of damage to conifers. They differ only in the number of generations.
In central Russia, ordinary pine caterpillars stably lay eggs twice during the summer period with offspring - this causes very serious damage to trees.
What kind of damage can pine sawfields do to coniferous plantations?
Young larvae of pine sawfly eat needles of needles from the sides, therefore, control measures should be taken as soon as possible. The unaffected parts of the needles begin to dry out, turn yellow and curl. More mature larvae absorb the needles entirely.
The high number of larvae and the lack of potential food threatens to gnaw the bark, which will soon lead to mass drying of coniferous branches in the crown.
Young conifers, due to the occupation by the larvae, can shrivel for three to five years. Pest caterpillar pine weaken the tree physically. The decorative properties of the affected pine and the general landscape composition of the site are sharply reduced. Repeated infestation by larvae in one season can lead to the death of the stands during wintering.
Important! The risk group is dominated by pines under the age of thirty years.
Among conifers decorative needles, the Pines of Weymutov and Banks are the most affected. Pines growing on elevations of reliefs with dry, sandy and sandy loam soil, or lonely trees are most damaged by sawflies.
Caterpillars on the pine: how to deal with the pest
Sawfly pine spoils young shoots and buds, so you should choose the proper method of control. 
Did you know? Enough even a short period of stay of the sawfly in the caterpillar stage to cause great damage to the pine until the trunk completely dries out.
Mechanical and folk remedies
You can fight with sawn caterpillars by mechanical procedures. Defective buds and shoots on pines with black caterpillars should be removed from the tree and burned. To combat the green and black caterpillars, one should regularly dig up the soil around the trunk, destroy the nests and the larvae themselves.
Collect the larvae by hand in gloves and glasses on small pine trees. Larvae actively respond to danger. To protect "burp" own blood containing allergic components.
Chemicals against caterpillars on pine
Experts know how to effectively spray pine from caterpillars. Coniferous fire and green (black) caterpillars can be defeated with the use of insecticidal preparations "Aktellik" and "Confidor". 
You can spray plants with preparations of natural origin:
- "Bitoxibacillin";
- "Lepidocide";
- "Lepidobaktsid".
Important! If you have decided how you will fight with pine sawmill in a chemical way, it is advisable to test the medicine on a single pine tree before starting a course of treatment. If within 24 hours the condition of the conifer tree does not deteriorate, you can apply the tool on all the pines planted on your site.For efficiency, experts recommend alternating chemicals. Always read the instructions carefully before use. Observe the safety rules during the processing of pines from pests.
Caterpillar prevention on pine
Prevention at low numbers is to track weather conditions. Sawflies breed in a warm and dry season (the end of spring - the beginning of summer). If hot, dry summers are expected, be alert. The rainy season is more dangerous for pine caterpillars - they often die from diseases.
Pests pupate in the soil around the pine tree, therefore, for prevention, it is desirable to dig up near-trunk soil in November. In springtime, it is important to destroy the larvae by spraying with insecticidal and biological agents from pine sawfly.
Thinking through the landscape composition, plant a Crimean pine near deciduous trees, prickly bushes. It is less damaged by sawflies. The alternation of pine and deciduous tree species makes it difficult for females to search for food. Dig the ground around the pine at the end of summer - at the beginning of autumn to a depth of 7-10 cm. However, do not overdo it, so as not to damage the roots of the plantations.
Attract birds to your site that feed on pests of coniferous trees by caterpillars. To do this, place on the trunks of the tree nesting boxes, create nest boxes. The attracted chalcides, ichneumonids, tachins, red forest ants, ground beetles will be no less effective in pest control. Plant more flowers in the garden - natural defenders of the pines will be frequent guests at your site. 
