The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced Tuesday that the southern pine beetle was detected in Wallingford on March 17 by staff of the two agencies, the first detection of this pest in Connecticut.

The identification has been confirmed by officials of the USDA Forest Service. Four sites in New Haven County and one each in Litchfield and Hartford counties have been confirmed positive for the beetle, the experiment station said in a news release.

Southern pine beetle is native to the southeastern United States and has long been a major pest of timber plantations in that region. The beetle can overwhelm and kill healthy trees.

“It is disappointing to have yet another forest insect pest introduced into the state, but as this is a beetle native to the U.S., there will be no federal or state regulation on movement or disposal of infested trees or wood,” said Kirby Stafford, state entomologist.

Stafford said there is no good control for the pest other than keeping trees healthy.

Claire Rutledge, assistant agricultural scientist with the experiment station, said she has just begun statewide surveys to determine the extent of the infestation. In southeastern Connecticut, pitch pine forests in Hopeville Pond State Park in Griswold and Patchaug State Forest in Voluntown are among areas that could be susceptible and where she will be checking, she said.

"Pitch pine is the most vulnerable," she said. "We don't know yet how long it's been here, or how serious this is going to be. We're trying to move quickly on it."

Once an infestation takes hold, there is little that can be done to arrest it other than removing the trees, Rutledge said. She said the beetle was first spotted by a DEEP forester in red pines in Wharton Brook State Park in Wallingford. Those trees have been cut down.

There are bark sprays that can be used as a preventive measure in areas near where there are confirmed infestations, she said.

The Southern pine beetle predominately attacks “hard” pines. In Connecticut, the non-native hard pines that are vulnerable include the red pine, Scotch pine and Austrian pine. The native tree of most concern is pitch pine, the experiment station said. Pitch pine was once an abundant tree in the state, but due to development of its preferred habitat, the sand-plain ecosystem, it now remains in scattered patches throughout the state.

“Although pitch pine contributes little to the overall makeup of Connecticut’s forests, its potential loss is of grave concern primarily due to the unique and highly valued habitat it provides for rare and endangered species dependent upon pine-oak sandy barrens,” said Christopher Martin, DEEP director of forestry. While the beetle also will attack eastern white pine, the state's most abundant pine, it is a nonpreferred host, he said.

Although the beetle is a southern species, it slowly has been expanding its range northward in recent years, causing significant pine mortality in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey over the last decade, the experiment station said. A large infestation was detected in the Pitch Pine Preserve in eastern Long Island in October. The experiment station said trapping will begin in mid-April to determine beetle overwintering success.

The beetle is a small, destructive insect about 2 mm in length. Pines attempt to push the attacking beetles out with a flow of resin. Attacked trees are covered with small popcorn-like blobs of dried resin. If the attack is successful, the beetles lay eggs under the bark. The larvae then feed on the circulatory system of the tree, and kill the tree in one to two years, the experiment station said.

Anyone who sees pines with the popcorn-like resin is asked to contact the experiment station at ctstateentomologist@ct.gov or at (203) 974-8474.