Dioryctria merkeli

Description

Dioryctria merkeli, the loblolly pine coneworm moth, is a species of snout moth in the genus Dioryctria. It was described by Akira Mutuura and Eugene Gordon Munroe in 1979 and is found in the eastern United States] including Maryland, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. The larvae feed on Pinus species. They bore into the cambium of the trunk, branches and twigs of their host plant.