Black Turpentine Beetle

How to identify it

• Adults are cylindrical, dark reddish-brown to black, 5 to 8 mm long, the largest bark beetle in the Southeast.^[1]
• Attacks on the lower 1 to 2 meters of the trunk or large roots produce pitch tubes of resin mixed with reddish boring dust.^[1]

Look-alikes

Where it lives

It occurs from coastal New Hampshire south through Florida and west to Texas and Missouri.^[1]

US map: public records from 15 states since 1990 (GBIF). View the map

Biology and life cycle

Females bore through the bark at the lower trunk and are joined by males; they're strongly drawn to pine odors and fresh stumps.^[1]

Damage and signs

• Light attacks kill patches of phloem, but many attacks per tree kill it; logging and thinning often trigger infestations.^[1]

Health risk

It attacks pines; UF/IFAS mentions no risk to people.^[1]

Control

Prevention

Keep pines healthy, avoid root and trunk injuries, and keep fresh pine firewood and slash away from live pines.^[1]

When to call a professional

Trees with fewer pitch tubes than their diameter in inches are more likely to survive and may be candidates for treatment; ask your local Extension office.^[1]

Common questions

What are the reddish blobs at the base of my pine?

Pitch tubes from black turpentine beetle attacks.^[1]

Will my pine die?

Light attacks may not kill it, but numerous attacks can.^[1]

Sources

1. University of Florida IFAS Extension (Featured Creatures), “Black Turpentine Beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans (EENY-356).” edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN636 (accessed 2026-10-06)
2. iNaturalist, “Dendroctonus terebrans taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/218222 (accessed 2026-10-06)