Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), a forest tree introduced from Eurasia, is commonly planted for Christmas tree and timber use in northeastern United States. In this country it has numerous insect enemies. Among the most important are European pine shoot moth, Rhyacionia buoliana (Schiffermiieller); pine root collar weevil, Hylobius radicis Buchanan;,European pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy); and eastern white-pine shoot borer, Eucosma gloriola Heinrich. Previous studies (Wright et al., 1967; Wright and Wilson, 1972; Steiner, 1974) have revealed large genetic differences in resistance to some of these pests.
Another destructive pest is the Zimmerman pine moth, Dioryctria zimmermani (Grote). In 1968 this insect, native to the United States, was found attacking trees in a Scotch pine provenance test in southwestern Michigan. The attack rate was heavy and by 1973 it was obvious that some rams or varieties were attacked more heavily than others. This is a report on those differences.
Wright, Jonathan W.; Wilson, Louis F.; and Bright, John N.
"Genetic Variation in Resistance of Scotch Pine to Zimmerman Pine Moth,"
The Great Lakes Entomologist: Vol. 8
, Article 8.
Available at: http://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol8/iss4/8