Pine Tortoise Scale: Soft Scale Insect on Jack Pine, Scotch Pine and Mugo Pine

Pine Tortoise Scale, a soft scale insect, can infect Jack Pine, Scotch Pine, Mugo Pine, and Austrian Pine in the North Dakota region. They go through three main stages of development: the egg stage, the nymph stage (the crawler stage), and the adult stage. The Pine Tortoise Scale has piercing-sucking mouthparts called stylets. The males and females can be found on both needles and twigs.

As the Pine Tortoise Scale feeds, it will excrete a honeydew sticky substance. This honeydew will attract bees, wasps, and ants. Ants will become protective of the scale insects to protect their honeydew source. Sooty mold, can also grow on the honeydew, leading to less photosynthesis and death of the branches.

The Pine Tortoise Scale mainly spreads by wind, where the crawler stage is moved on to new hosts. It can also be spread by birds and insects and mechanical methods like pruning tools.

If you think your pine tree may be infected with the Pine Tortoise Scale, there are a few things you can do. You can prune off the infected branches and destroy them. You can spray with dormant oil sprays, insecticidal soaps, or systemic insecticides.

Lady Beetles and parasitoids are natural predators and are considered the best control option.

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