Last fall there were wasps seen on the trunk of my young maple trees. This spring as the trees grew a bit the tiny holes opened into larger ones about a dime sixe, Then the bark split. I am wondering if anyone has any info on this sort of insect and it's behavior. How do I save the tree???? It's already getting late in the season. Help!!

Reply to post by Danese, on July 06, 2000 at 11:13:39:

Diagnosisng over the wire is difficult at best, so my comments are just guesses here.

It sounds like maybe your maples have some carpenter worm or other borers inside. The wasps were perhaps parasitic wasps, trying to locate the borer and lay eggs in it. They actually insert an ovipositor (a long 'stinger') and force a small egg through it in the larva in the tree.

The larger holes this spring are where the borers that survived emerged as adult moths. Some can be quite large. The bark around them sometimes splits as it dries out.

Another possibility is the imported pest, Asian Longhorn Beetle. This is a real problem in some areas. Call your local Cooperative Extension office to find out if this pest has been found in your area. If it has, I highly recommend you have an arborist or Dept of Agriculture inspector check it out.

If the damage is from borers inside the tree, the tree will usually tolerate the damage, eventually growing over the wounds and sealing them up. There will be some decay inside, but if the trees are young and healthy, it shouldn't be a problem.

The American Society of Consulting Arborists can recommend highly qualified arborists and consultants in your area. Their web site and database is at

http://www.asca-consultants.org

or contact the main office at

American Society of Consulting Arborists
15245 Shady Grove Road
Suite 130
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 947-0483

The International Society of Arboriculture maintains a current list of ISA Certified Arborists. The searchable list can be accessed at the ISA Web site, at:
http://www.isa-arbor.com

Reply to post by Russ Carlson, on July 06, 2000 at 11:13:39:

We own have Oak Wood in our Pallet business that when built goes to a cheese company and they found a Carpenter worm crawling across the pallets we had just delivered. They rejected the load and told us to get rid of the worms in the wood. We are current ly using a enclosed room built for fumigation and we restack the boards in layers with stickers between each layer to allow air movement and use a home insect gogger with cyclohexene,dicarboximido, methyl 2, dimethyl 3, and methylpropeny as well as other ingredients. It was being used to kill the carpenter ants in the wood. We were unaware of the worms. we are thinkins of dipping these boards in clorox. Would this work.