Insects Affecting Seed Production in Red Pine: IV. Recognition and Extent of Damage to Cones

Abstract

The broad study of factors responsible for poor seed production by red pines (Pinus resinosae Ait.) in central and southern Ontario has been concerned with the seed production capacity and efficiency of sound cones (1) and the description, life history, behaviour, and natural control of cone-inhabiting insects (2, 3, 4). The present contribution, which concludes the four-part series on red pine cone insects, deals with the time and duration of cone attack by the various insect species and the variability in the intensity of cone damage from year to year and from one locality to another. As an aid to the field diagnosis of the cause of cone damage, keys based on the appearance of mature larvae and injured cones are included.