Pines

Pines are particularly useful to wildlife because they provide wintertime shelter and their seeds provide food. Pine seeds can sometimes be observed by tapping a newly opened cone on a hard surface. Look for a winged seed somewhat like a maple. Pines are abundant in Virginia, particularly loblolly pine in the east and white pine in the west. Unfortunately, the annual crop of pine seeds varies; some years there is a heavy yield, and some years are less fruitful.

 

Pine bark beetles are the most important insect pest of trees in Virginia. Outbreaks are quite impressive and economically devastating. The most common insect seen feeding on pine twigs is the spittle bug.

               

Producers
Virginia pine
White pine
Austrian pine
Japanese black pine

 Consumers

 Herbivores
White-tailed deer* (foliage and twigs)
Gray squirrel* (seeds)
Conifer sawfly larvae and pupal cases (needles)
Pine bark beetle exit holes (inner bark)
Spittle bugs (inner bark)
Sawyer beetle larvae (inner bark)
White pine weevil (terminal leader of white pine)
White-footed mouse (seeds)
Mourning dove (seeds)

 Omnivores
Bobwhite* (seeds and insects)
Wild turkey* (seeds and insects)
Carolina chickadee (seeds and insects)
Meadowlark (seeds and insects)
Brown thrasher (seeds and insects)
Towhee (seeds and insects)
Sparrows (seeds and insects)
Pine warbler (seeds and insects)
Red-bellied woodpecker (seeds and insects)

Carnivores
Carnivorous insects, spiders, birds, reptiles and mammals


* Pine seeds account for greater than 25% of total diet.

 


pine (producer) => towhee (omnivore) => house cat (carnivore)

 

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