Tieball
Masterpiece
Good point!
Collected oak (bicolor) little black beetles are attacking and drilling into it, help!
_#1_
Omono
I would spread wood glue on the affect area(s) with my fingers. Pushing it in the holes along the way. Hopefully the Beatles and the eggs and larvae all suffocate.
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Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
2Cents worth. I favor oaks in general so always worth effort to save and is educational. Suggest good systemic as well as soaking all dead wood areas several times and spray whole tree less often. Imidicloprid is good but use caution. Make sure runoff does not get where pets or bees will be affected. Use tray under tree when watering and don't dispose in sewer or street please
. Please keep posted.
. Please keep posted.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I'd have to agree. This isn't really worth the effort.
I'd also agree that it could be a danger to your other trees. Borers are attracted to weakened trees and bare wood. Recently collected trees are weak and have exposed wood from trunk chops.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Nope. They'll just keep chewing through the tree. Nothing is going to suffocate. That's why borers are so hard to get rid of.
Systemic isn't going to work effectively, or at all, since the tree has a compromised root system. Roots don't take up anything until they've hardened off, just like foliage. Applying a systemic now is mostly futile.
Waltron
Chumono
the tree was collected a about 65 yards from my yard. if i were going to get rid of the tree id plant it back in the ground not burn it. anything the tree has is occuring naturally in my environment.
Waltron
Chumono
this tree is very much alive, there is no question about that.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Um, well, err, now it's in among your other trees? 65 yards is a very VERY long way for small bugs to travel. In addition, the tree appears to be infested with the things. You've made their job of finding the trees in your collection a lot easier. FWIW, these things often attack the wooden structures of buildings and those infestations typically start when an infested piece of wood is brought into the building. The bugs are outside otherwise and don't really try to get in. They've just been given an opportunity...
Waltron
Chumono
oh no im ruined! I should probably burn my whole collection along with house at this point.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Jeez, why the snarky bullshit? Why so threatened? Just offering a warning that this a potential problem for your other trees ...
Waltron
Chumono
I understand what you are saying, i do see the potential problems here, but im not nearly as worried about it as you are because I know the actual situation a little more closely. you are just a negative Nancy hater doubter type. I think this tree, my house, my other trees, will end up being just fine.. if not well then you can say I told you so.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Whatever dude. You thought you knew the actual situation when you collected this tree and look where that got ya...
Waltron
Chumono
not sure what you mean by that but i dont regret collecting this tree if that's what your getting at.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
I don't think these types of beetles are a threat to your house. They attack and reproduce in living trees. There are other beetles that will go after your house. And I don't think 65 m is much of an impediment to bark beetles, see for example http://www.chemical-ecology.net/papers/bbdisp.htm (Wind-aided dispersal of simulated bark beetles flying through forests.)
I'm not sure exactly which type of bark beetle these are, there are many types...some native and others introduced, and they all look similar. I can say this, though. I've had plants in my grow bed now for 5-6 years. I never saw bark beetle damage until 2 years ago, when a styrax that had been growing happily started wilting. I then noticed all the little "sawdust tubes" in the trunk where the beetles were boring in. Both of the trunks died back to the ground (but the plant has sprouted from the base...back to the drawing board). Last spring several trees were attacked and a few were severely damaged. This spring one trunk-chopped tree is being targeted and now has dozens of entry holes. The permethrin spray seems to have little impact. So far they are concentrating on that tree, but a few others also have a new hole or two.
So far they've mostly stayed away from the potted trees, though last year a couple of holes appeared in a privet.
So where did these things come from? Were they in the environment already and for some reason just found my growing bed, are they spreading from other areas, did I introduce them with one of the trees? I have no idea. There are a lot of pines around here that are dying off due to a combination of issues (fungus, borers). Maybe the beetles are looking for new food sources now that there are fewer pines. It's very concerning, these things could cause severe damage to a bonsai collection in a short period of time...and there appears to be little that can be done to stop them.
I'm not sure exactly which type of bark beetle these are, there are many types...some native and others introduced, and they all look similar. I can say this, though. I've had plants in my grow bed now for 5-6 years. I never saw bark beetle damage until 2 years ago, when a styrax that had been growing happily started wilting. I then noticed all the little "sawdust tubes" in the trunk where the beetles were boring in. Both of the trunks died back to the ground (but the plant has sprouted from the base...back to the drawing board). Last spring several trees were attacked and a few were severely damaged. This spring one trunk-chopped tree is being targeted and now has dozens of entry holes. The permethrin spray seems to have little impact. So far they are concentrating on that tree, but a few others also have a new hole or two.
So far they've mostly stayed away from the potted trees, though last year a couple of holes appeared in a privet.
So where did these things come from? Were they in the environment already and for some reason just found my growing bed, are they spreading from other areas, did I introduce them with one of the trees? I have no idea. There are a lot of pines around here that are dying off due to a combination of issues (fungus, borers). Maybe the beetles are looking for new food sources now that there are fewer pines. It's very concerning, these things could cause severe damage to a bonsai collection in a short period of time...and there appears to be little that can be done to stop them.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I didn't say they were a threat to his house. What I was trying to say was that these insects are opportunistic and offering them better access (closer proximity, bringing them inside) ups the chances for infestations to travel.
The experience you've described, one tree affected--then more around it, suggests that proximity of an already-infested trees does has something to do with other trees being attacked.
The experience you've described, one tree affected--then more around it, suggests that proximity of an already-infested trees does has something to do with other trees being attacked.
Waltron
Chumono
well, this particular one was approximately 65 yards away. there are many that are much closer, and further away. im pretty sure that most of them have been infected for the last few years from my observations of the acorns, the trees continue grow, however, most of them are stunted, and the deer prune them, every year, and even with me cutting at their roots and the deer eating new growth, and these beetles... they sprout many leaves every year. from what I can tell this is the only species that seems to be affected by these beetles, and I examine most of the tree species near me. I'm not exactly sure what going on, but I've killed a fair amount of them and I think this tree will be fine. even if it takes me a year or 2 to kill them all on this tree, I think I can stop new ones from coming, and most of the ones on this tree I believe have come from this tree.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
I guess I mis-interpreted your comment ("FWIW, these things often attack the wooden structures of buildings...")
No doubt, proximity plays a role. If they emerge from a tree and find another suitable candidate right next to it, why travel a long distance? But the studies I've seen indicate that bark beetles can easily travel 2 km or more, so if they were already within 65 m of his yard, there wasn't much stopping them.
In this case, though, I would seriously evaluate whether that collected tree is worth risking the rest of the collection.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
By "these things" I meant borers. There are dozens of species of borer insects that do this kind of damage. From flatheaded borers to bark beetles to clear winged moths, each with their own habits. This:
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ent43
goes into some detail about which species of trees each species of borer likes. Clearwing borers like oak...
Worth a read if you have these critters
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks for the link. The beetles I'm dealing with don't fall into either of those categories (clearwing or flathead), though I've occasionally seen those types around. The ones I've got are some type of bark beetle, as described, for example, here: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7421.html
I've seen them up close, both in adult and larval form (from cutting open infected wood). I can't tell for certain which type of bark beetle I'm dealing with, as there are characteristics that match both shothole borer and ambrosia beetle. As can be seen from the website, some of the beetle species are very specific as to types of trees attacked (pine beetles, elm beetles, etc). Others are more opportunistic (shothole borer).
In the case being discussed here, the OP may have oak ambrosia or oak bark beetles, which would be less likely to attack other species. That might be a dangerous assumption, though.
Waltron
Chumono
here is the best picture I could get the other day. I know we have the emarld ash bore, as ive seen it, and there are thousands of young ash trees growing all around, but im sure they will all be gone before they grow old. I've also seen another type of borer that's all brown that looks like the emarld ash borer. those are both much larger than what I have here. im going to keep spraying and inspecting it and hopefully the systemic will eventually kick in and do something, along with keeping it healthy and fertilized maybe the tree will kick in with some defense of its own. the tree is clearly growing, and has been for a very long time.
