I'm in the yard splitting this morning and came across a piece of white pine with what looks like some sort of grub inside. The bug is frozen into place, water made its way into the bored hole and he's just there. My question is, is he dead?
Don't know, but he'll be stove chow if he stays there. I find tons of those in downed pine and spruce. Similar finds in Oak. Usually, once the wood starts drying, they go away.
no, he's still alive. Most bugs have a natural "anti-freeze" in them that allows them to go totally dormant during the winter. Looks like a sawyer beetle larvae... Harmless to humans, bad for pine trees. I think they only chew in living trees, but it wouldn't hurt to eradicate them.....
I think you mean dead trees? I think most sawyers occur in dead trees. At least here in the south the sawyers move in after the pines die but there are many sawyers.
You reminded me of a favorite line my father used to say on a clear day at the farm… "It's so clear today, you can see the ants climbing the trees on the mountain"… and, I'm pretty sure he got the line from his mother…
I think I'll pass on the nutty flavored treat today. When I get invited to "Survivor" I'd consider getting my palate ready with a few of those.
I get them in dead pines and rounds that don't get split right away. Might be white pine sawyer beetle. I get tons of 'em under the bark. I think that's where they start and then work their way in, but it could be two different beetle grubs. Might be dead if the bore hole filled with water and froze. I find 'em still wigglin' otherwise in pretty cold weather. I'll find carpenter ants dead if the bore hole fills with water and freezes too.
The swallowing whole may mentally mess with my head. I'd think they would burrow a hole down there, not sure how long it would take for the stomach acid to kill them. One bite then swallow I think for me
And now that I'm stacking wood again today, I'm peeling the loose bark off of the splits. I'm looking underneath for more bugs.... and I'm not getting much done! grrr
LOL you're gonna find those grubs under most of the bark on all types of wood! Oak and pine get them under the bark once the trees are cut..
