Did your pine tree just suddenly up and die really quickly? Like really, really quickly? More specifically, did your pine turn from green to brown in the span of about a week? If so, you most likely had an infestation of pine bark beetles.

As summer blankets Atlanta with warm weather and vibrant greenery, it's also the time when one of the Southeast’s most damaging tree pests quietly emerges: the ambrosia beetle.  

If you have ever noticed a crusty, black growth at the base of your tree, your tree may have what many brittle cinder fungus (Kretzschmaria deusta).