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The Nantucket pine tip moth (NPTM) (Rhyacionia frustrana Comstock) is a native, regeneration pest of young loblolly pines (Pinus taeda L.), causing shoot dieback, tree deformity, and growth and volume declines. Soil applications of systemic insecticides may be an effective strategy to suppress NPTM populations. The study objective was to assess the efficacy of four systemic insecticide treatments (chlorantraniliprole, dinotefuran, fipronil, and imidacloprid) for two growing seasons in outplanted bareroot and containerized seedling trials. Response variables included NPTM infestation rates, along with tree height, groundline diameter, volume index, and stem form. Infestation rates significantly decreased for each systemic insecticide treatment during the first year compared to controls, although dinotefuran and imidacloprid provided season-long control in one trial. Chlorantraniliprole reduced NPTM infestation rates for two growing seasons in both trials. While imidacloprid treatments did not alter growth metrics except for one comparison, fipronil and dinotefuran treatments improved several growth metrics. Chlorantraniliprole consistently improved growth metrics throughout the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nantucket pine tip moth (NPTM) [ Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock)], a native regeneration pest on young loblolly pines (Pinus taeda L.), negatively impacts pine growth. An emerging management approach is to apply systemic insecticides to seedlings to reduce NPTM damage. These systemic insecticide applications generally occur once, perhaps twice, during the first few years of loblolly pine growth. However, these applications could lead to unintended environmental consequences to nontarget organisms. The purpose of this study was to assess potential nontarget effects from four systemic insecticide applications by assessing ground-dwelling arthropod trap catch, with a focus on collembolan trap catch and genera richness. Loblolly seedlings (24 seedlings per plot) at three sites in southeast Georgia were treated with either chlorantraniliprole, dinotefuran, fipronil, or imidacloprid or left untreated as a control. Arthropods were collected with pitfall traps that were deployed for 5 d in July, August, and September 2019, 7–9 mo after treatment. Ground-dwelling arthropod trap catch, arthropod order trap catch, collembolan trap catch, and collembolan genera richness did not vary among insecticide treatments and the untreated control in this mid-term insecticide risk assessment. While no significant effects of insecticide treatment were observed, ground-dwelling arthropod trap catch, collembolan trap catch, and collembolan genera richness differed among collection times. This study was the first of its kind in a young pine stand setting and is an important first step to understanding risk in these settings. Information on nontarget risks of management practices informs growers of the level of environmental risk associated with systemic insecticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, we evaluated the effects of combining lures releasing pine host kairomones (ethanol + α-pinene) with lures releasing bark beetle pheromones (ipsenol + ipsdienol) on trap catches of predators associated with bark and woodboring beetles in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Virginia. Catches in traps baited with all 4 compounds were greater than those in traps baited with either binary blend for the common predators Thanasimus dubius (F.) (Coleoptera: Cleridae), Temnoscheila virescens (F.) (Coleoptera: Trogossitidae), Aulonium tuberculatum LeConte (Coleoptera: Zopheridae), and Lasconotus spp. (Coleoptera: Zopheridae). The same was true for: Enoclerus nigripes (Say) (Coleoptera: Cleridae) at 2 of 3 locations; Platysoma cylindricum (Paykull) (Coleoptera: Histeridae) at 3 of 4 locations; and Corticeus spp. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) at 2 of 6 locations. In contrast, the addition of ethanol + α-pinene to traps baited with ipsenol + ipsdienol reduced catches of Platysoma attenuatum LeConte (Coleoptera: Histeridae) at 2 of 4 locations., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2023.)

Forests across much of the United States are becoming denser. Trees growing in denser stands experience more competition for essential resources, which can make them more vulnerable to disturbances. Forest density can be expressed in terms of basal area, a metric that has been used to assess vulnerability of some forests to damage by certain insects or pathogens. A raster map of total tree basal area (TBA) for the conterminous United States was compared with annual (2000-2019) survey maps of forest damage due to insects and pathogens. Across each of four regions, median TBA was significantly higher within forest areas defoliated or killed by insects or pathogens than in areas without recorded damage. Therefore, TBA may serve as a regional-scale indicator of forest health and a first filter for identifying areas that merit finer-scale analysis of forest conditions., (© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Identifying the signs and symptoms of pathogens, insects, and other biotic and abiotic agents provides valuable information about the absolute and relative impacts of different types of damage across the forest landscape. In the USA, damage collection protocols have been included in various forms since the initiation of state-level forest surveys in the early twentieth century; however, changes in the protocols over time have made it difficult for the data to be used to its full potential. This article outlines differences in protocols across inventory regions, changes in protocols over time, and limitations and utility of the data so that those interested in using the US national forest inventory database will better understand what data are available and how they have been and can be used.

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (LBP) caused by intervertebral disc herniation was reported in the 2010 Global Burden of Disease study to be the main reason for years lived with disability. It causes significant personal, social, and economic burdens. Many of those who suffer from LBP find conventional medical treatments to be unsatisfactory for treating their pain, so they are increasingly resorting to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies. Given that the population is aging, there is an urgent need to characterize the combinations of complementary therapies that yield the best outcomes and treatments, even for prolonged periods. This observational study aimed to evaluate the effect of ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide (umPEA) + CAM (daily functional rehabilitation + decontracting massage) therapies on chronic pain in patients suffering from multiple herniated discs in the lumbar spine., Methods: Eligible patients received 600 mg of umPEA twice a day in combination with a daily functional rehabilitation session according to the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy plus a decontracting massage for 20 consecutive days, followed by 600 mg of umPEA once a day for 40 days in addition to standard therapy., Results: The results showed that the average pain intensity score, evaluated via the Numeric Rating Scale, progressively decreased during the study period, reaching a value that was not clinically relevant at the end of the observation period. Pain relief was paralleled by improvements in the physical and mental components of quality of life as evaluated with the SF-36 questionnaire as well as in disability for low back pain as evaluated with the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire. Collectively, the results demonstrate that umPEA in combination with CAM therapies could be an important strategy for combating LBP., Conclusions: The multiple action of PEA in combination with CAM therapies may represent the multitarget approach needed to tackle the as-yet unsolved problem of chronic pain resistant to conventional therapies.

We provide the first report of Matsucoccus macrocicatrices Richards (Hemiptera: Matsucoccidae) feeding and reproducing on eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L., in the southeastern United States. Until now, M. macrocicatrices had been reported only from the Canadian Atlantic Maritimes, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Entomological holdings of 27 major museums in eastern North America have no historical records for M. macrocicatrices from the southeastern region. However, our field surveys and molecular analyses (DNA barcoding) have resulted in the collection and positive identification of M. macrocicatrices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia In addition to the new geographic range, M. macrocicatrices is also being associated with dieback and mortality of all diameter classes of P. strobus leading to concern about a potential shift from its historically nonpestiferous presence on the host tree. On P. strobus, M. macrocicatrices was found embedded in cankers or present on top of the bark with necrotic tissue under their feeding area, indicating that they may be creating wounds for opportunistic pathogenic fungi to infest. Further, we found M. macrocicatrices living outside of the epiphytic mats of its symbiotic fungus, Septobasidium pinicola Snell. This study shows that M. macrocicatrices is now widespread in the southeastern United States, with implications for the future survival and regeneration of P. strobus in eastern North America.

In 2006, we examined the flight responses of 43 species of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) to multiple-funnel traps baited with binary lure blends of (1) ipsenol + ipsdienol, (2) ethanol + alpha-pinene, and a quaternary lure blend of (3) ipsenol + ipsdienol + ethanol + alpha-pinene in the southeastern United States. In addition, we monitored responses of Buprestidae, Elateridae, and Curculionidae commonly associated with pine longhorn beetles. Field trials were conducted in mature pine (Pinus pp.) stands in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Virginia. The following species preferred traps baited with the quaternary blend over those baited with ethanol + alpha-pinene: Acanthocinus nodosus (F.), Acanthocinus obsoletus (Olivier), Astylopsis arcuata (LeConte), Astylopsis sexguttata (Say), Monochamus scutellatus (Say), Monochamus titillator (F.) complex, Rhagium inquisitor (L.) (Cerambycidae), Buprestis consularis Gory, Buprestis lineata F. (Buprestidae), Ips avulsus (Eichhoff), Ips calligraphus (Germar), Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff), Orthotomicus caelatus (Eichhoff), and Gnathotrichus materiarus (Fitch) (Curculionidae). The addition ofipsenol and ipsdienol had no effect on catches of 17 other species of bark and wood boring beetles in traps baited with ethanol and a-pinene. Ethanol + alpha-pinene interrupted the attraction of Ips avulsus, I. grandicollis, and Pityophthorus Eichhoff spp. (but not I. calligraphus) (Curculionidae) to traps baited with ipsenol + ipsdienol. Our results support the use of traps baited with a quaternary blend of ipsenol + ipsdienol + ethanol + alpha-pinene for common saproxylic beetles in pine forests of the southeastern United States.

Regeneration pests of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) threaten growth and survival in intensively managed loblolly pine plantations throughout the southeastern United States. The Nantucket pine tip moth, Rhyacionia frustrana (Comstock), in particular, often reduces growth of loblolly pine but has been difficult to control with traditional insecticides due to multiple annual generations and multi-year infestations which are difficult to predict in timing and location. Relatively new systemic insecticide products offer a solution in that their efficacy persists through multiple generations and years after a single application. Efficacy of systemic imidacloprid and fipronil were evaluated side by side across multiple sites in Virginia. Significant reductions in Nantucket pine tip moth damage were noted in trees treated with either the imidacloprid or fipronil product compared with check trees. After 2 yr, growth improvement of treated trees relative to controls was modest and not significant at all sites, but per acre volume indices were significantly greater in treated blocks as a result of higher tree survival. Reduced seedling mortality was attributed primarily to prevention of damage by pales weevil, Hylobius pales Herbst (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), by both insecticide treatments. Control of pales weevil in addition to pine tip moth suggests that systemic insecticide products with a long window of efficacy might control additional nontargeted pests.

The white pine cone beetle, Conophthorus coniperda, exhibited dose and enantiospecific responses to alpha-pinene in stands of mature eastern white pine, Pinus strobus, in a seed orchard near Murphy, North Carolina, USA. (-)-alpha-Pinene significantly increased catches of cone beetles to traps baited with (+/-)-trans-pityol. (+)-alpha-Pinene did not increase catches of beetles to pityol-baited traps and interrupted the response of beetles to traps baited with (+/-)-trans-pityol and (-)-alpha-pinene. Maximal attraction of cone beetles to pityol-baited traps was obtained with lures releasing (-)-alpha-pinene at a rate of 103 mg/day at 23 degrees C. Lures releasing (-)-alpha-pinene at rates lower or higher than 103 mg/day resulted in reduced catches to traps baited with (+/-)-trans-pityol. The sex ratio in all catches was heavily male biased. Attraction of the clerid predator, Thanasimus dubius, to traps baited with (+/-)-trans-pityol increased significantly with the presence of alpha-pinene, irrespective of enantiomeric composition. Maximal attraction of T. dubius to pityol-baited traps occurred with devices releasing (-)-alpha-pinene at the highest rate tested, 579 mg/d at 23 degrees C, a sub optimal rate for cone beetles.