Hi Joan,

I haven't seen this either, but it could be stubby needlegall midge, which is a gall-forming insect that affects ponderosa pine. It looks like there is stunting/galls on some of the needles - especially in photo "pineblight2"? 

Here's some information from one of our resources:

STUBBY NEEDLEGALL MIDGE 
Contarinia coloradensis (Felt) 
Family: Cecidomyiidae 

Appearance: Adults- Mosquito-sized, delicate flies. Larvae- Orange, legless maggots. Eggs are tiny, torpedo-shaped and milky in color. The gall is a globular growth at the base of the needle which is severely shortened. 

Hosts: Ponderosa pine 

Damage: Insect feeding stunts the needle forming a rounded gall. Galled needles die at the end of the first summer and heavy infestations can affect the appearance and vigor of the tree. However, serious outbreaks are very uncommon.  

Life History and Habits: Adults emerge from soil litter from mid-April to June. Females lay eggs in small masses on developing needles. These eggs hatch into larvae that begin feeding on the needle, producing a gall in which they become enclosed. Adults emerge from galls in late summer and move to overwintering protection. There is one generation per year. 

Controls: Serious infestations are rare and treatments are not likely to be warranted. Control evaluations have not been conducted. However, treatments that have been effective against other gall midges (dimethoate, Talstar, diazinon) are likely to be effective against this species when applied during the egg laying period.

Let me know what you think! And yes, you can send a sample to the CSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic at Spur. I don't know what the cost will be, so it's best if you contact them to ask and also how to send your sample: https://agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/plantclinic/