Disappointed, but not surprised (and bug ID question)

Last summer I had a decent size oak come down during a storm. It snapped about 12’ above ground. Nothing damaged but a few pines. I cut and split what fell last fall.

Today I figured I’d take down the rest of the trunk, as I had some other trees removed and plan on renting a splitter in the next few weeks. Not much left of the trunk as you can see. Oh well. I’ll take what I can get.

The real question - any idea what these big white grubs might be? There were a couple dozen of them at least. They were about the diameter of my thumb and at least 2 inches long. Can’t say I’ve ever seen those before. Most of them met their demise.

 

Like these? They were quite big, hanging out under old red oak rounds. Some had changed into big beetles, like stag beetles. One of them pinched my ankle with it's pinchers!

 

Haven't seen anything like that in my woods. I'm ok with that.

 

Yep, looked like those. Ugly critters, that’s for sure.

 

The birds liked them! They didn't last long, out in the open like that.

 

I squashed most with my boots and the rest with the end of the bar. Whatever they are, they sure made quick work of the wood.

 

I found something similar under the bark of some Pine I was splitting yesterday.
I put the piece of bark on the ground and within a few minutes, one of the chickens had a nice snack.

 

Pretty hard to do a definitive identification based on the larval stage. There are several reasons to be concerned with an infestation. 1. They are attacking live, healthy (uninjured) trees. Examples are Asian Longhorn Beetle and Emerald ash borer. These are arguably the worst as the only thing that limits their spread is the availability of a host tree. 2. They are attacking a damaged/injured landscape tree. Many pests take advantage of injured trees to gain a foothold and ultimately lead to a tree’s demise. In this case, treating a tree to stop the pest may save the tree. 3. They are infesting a potential forest product. Having wood borers infest a log before you can get it to market can result in total loss of market value.

I think your larvae are likely from a beetle that is attracted to injured trees/cut wood. Not a big deal other than eating some of your firewood. I had some a couple years ago in some white pine I had cut and I could actually hear them eating their way through the wood. A bit alarming, yes, but no serious damage as the wood was meant for the stove...

If you can monitor these guys through adulthood, it would greatly help identification.

 

Those look like asiatic garden beetles... just goes to show that it’s hard to identify from the larvae..

Got Pests?

 

Looks the same, but these grubs were as big as my little finger.

 

Ahhhh, Little guy..

 

Thinking these may be it. I clicked on the link to show a pic of the adults and I’ve seen those around here.

Either way, I whacked most of them.

Flower hermit beetle grubs

 

They were quite possibly there because that rotten wood is acting as soil supporting whatever organisms it is that they feed on.
It is quite possible they were not damaging the tree in any way.

I have found earthworms in rotten tree center 20 feet up in an oak tree that had a solid trunk.

 

Not sure what they are, but i have found them in decayed sections of wood im processing 343amc . Usually the stuff that looks like compost/dirt. I dont believe they eat the living wood like a borer. Sometimes ill bring them back up and leave on the deck table for the birds.

 

I'm interested in knowing what grubs you have there 343amc. I found these guys under some Oak rounds I had laying on the ground. I found similar grubs quite a few times on my property. Usually under Oak laying on the ground or just under the bark of Oak on the ground side.

 

I still think they are stag beetles. They definitely had pincers!
https://ptes.org/campaigns/stag-beetles-2/stag-beetle-facts/

 

Not sure about the larvae, but I'd like to have that black dirt on my garden!

 

I often wish i save the rot stuff in wood for the compost. PA not near house. Mebbe a little bucket nearby.

 

I used to burn my bark in the stove for the few BTU’s and lots of ash that it offered.. recently I started composting it and made it usable more quickly by running it through the chipper... piles of bark around the yard also serve as sanctuary for my small amphibian friends...