Question
I live in far west Texas and have 12 ponderosa pines in my yard. one of the younger trees (approx 24 inch circum.) has flaking bark, seems to be oozing more sap, a few of the sap leak areas look dried and white or yellowish/orangish--sooty-looking, while mostly the sap is amber/clear colored, and I notice a few spider webs on the bark too.  Yesterday, I also noticed a lawn sprinkler had been hitting the trunk at the bottom, and it looked almost black in that area...so I shut off the sprinkler system and it doesn't look as black today.  It's May 2012 and its pine needles seem more sparse than my other older trees.  Should I cut this tree down? What's your guess what's wrong with it, if anything?

Answer
As long as the needles are green the tree is still ok. I would if you can reach the areas effected on the trunk, spray the trunk with an insecticide called Onyx or Merit. This will kill any insect that ,maybe under the bark and prevent others from infesting the trunk. Check with your local garden type store for these products. The spider are not a problem most trunks have spiders--they are just trying to feed on insects on the bark.

The black sounds like just a color change form the water hitting the trunk. Not a problem.