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Red pine scale found to cause thousands of acres of damage; state urges winter salvage and trapping surveillance
Summary
Maine Forest Service staff described red pine scale impacts, roughly 3,500 acres of damage logged in 2025 (mostly Down East), rapid crown discoloration observable from air, passive trapping results indicating early infestations, and recommended winter salvage harvests between December and March to reduce spread.
Gabe Lame (Maine Forest Service) presented the red pine scale update, tracing the insect’s introduction and outlining detection and management options. He said red pine scale was first recorded in Maine in 2014 and noted two regional infestations: a Down East area and pockets in southern Maine.
"This past year in 2025, we logged about three and a half thousand acres of damage," Gabe said, reporting that most losses were down east but that satellite and aerial surveys show spread from multiple regions.
Gabe described diagnostic signs—needle bronzing progressing to brick red and crown thinning—and explained the crawler stage is windborne and difficult to see without branch sampling and magnification. The Forest Service runs aerial surveys and a passive trapping program that detects crawlers on sticky platforms; staff confirmed the pest in stands that show no external symptoms, indicating early‑stage infestations in some areas.
Management options are limited at landscape scale; Gabe recommended salvage harvests timed for winter (December–March) when the scale is in an immobile stage to minimize spread on equipment. He warned that fertilization can exacerbate infestations and said large‑scale insecticide use is unlikely to be feasible in plantations.
Landowners and municipal foresters were urged to report suspicious red pine decline to the Maine Forest Service and to consult forest‑health condition reports available on the agency website.
