Bugs found in split wood. Can anyone I.D.?

Hard to identify larvae. Cheers!

There are so many wood boring insects that it is difficult to pinpoint it without putting it under a scope. It would help to know what area you got the wood out of, what kind of wood, is that a split with the larvae in the heartwood, or are those galleries in the outer ring (xylem/phloem)? Another thing that would help a little would be to pull one out and lay it against a background that shows the body better. Keep in mind though that entomologists would be looking at hairlike structures on the larvae to determine more precisely what the insect is. You could also take a few to an extension office of your state college or to the department of Agriculture in your area for better ID.

My uneducated guess: Coleoptera (wood boring beetle of some kind)

Hmmm . . . never been very good at IDing larvae by sight . . . take a nibble out of one and describe what it tastes like . . . if it tastes like licorice or anise it's probably the White Creepy Crawly Bug of the Wood . . . if it tastes like a nasty old bug it's also probably the White Creepy Crawly Bug of the Wood.

I have found those little buggers in LOTS of my wood over the last few seasons- lots of 'em in Locust,actually. Don't worry, you really cant hear them screamin' when you chuck 'em in the ole firebox! ;-P

KFDiesel said:

Don't guess it really matters what kind they are because they are not invited into my home. Even though I'm sure a few have snuck in uninvited. But I see these little guys every once in a while and was just wondering what they might be. The wood was old Elm. Thanks for helping.
Kirk

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What kind of wood is it? Is it punky?

The only beetle larvae I can instantly identify are the metallic wood-borers, b/c they have sort of a hammer-head appearance.

Take a look at this:
http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=g7422

ID'ing beetles is pretty easy, but the larvae pretty much require a trained entomologist.

I've cut wood for many, many moons and I still don't worry about bugs in the wood. Well, with the exception of those carpenter ants.

Not sure what kind of bugs they will turn into, but at the moment they look like bait to me.

Backwoods Savage said:

I've cut wood for many, many moons and I still don't worry about bugs in the wood. Well, with the exception of those carpenter ants.

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Don't worry, carpenter ants burn just fine!

I had some scavenged big maple rounds (36" diameter) that I picked up about a mile from my house. One of them was crawling with ants, but we took it any way. I left it in the driveway for a month and I figured the birds had their feast, but when I got around to splitting it we found the nest. Anyway, I decided NOT to stack those pieces out to dry. Just waited until I had a hot bed of coals going and tossed them in. Goodbye ants.

Looks a lot like the elm borer larvae (they don't just eat elm) that I've been finding in standing dead trees.