Well I was somewhat shocked today when I was splitting some lodge pole pine and saw what looked like two large plump larva things in these two sections I split! They definitely didn't appear alive like actually moving around but they also definitely didn't appear dead either ... I'd say dormant if that is accurate. The thing is this stuff was standing dead for a few years, then dropped for a full year before being bucked up and then sat stacked up in big bucks for almost all of last year. I am amazed that anything actually "survived" all that drying time although these rounds were rather large and these two bugs were both ten or more inches into the round. I am also amazed that out of all the wood that I've taken from this area this is the only time I've seen anything other than old looking bug holes which always look long abandoned. So, I have a few questions for the experts.
1. Can anyone identify this "bug"?
2. Is it alive, dead, dormant? What stage would this be (pupa, larva, etc)?
3. Is it okay to use this wood for firewood or should I somehow dispose of it?
4. Is it okay to continue to use wood from this particular place in the future? This is one of three terrific different pieces of property I go to to help friends with clearing wood from their forests after getting attacked by beetles. All along I was under the understanding that if the wood was standing dead so long and then also bucked longer basically all the bugs would be dead, the wood would be safe to transport, safe to store and safe to use for firewood. Now I'm wondering whether that's true? Again although I've used lots and lots of wood from this area this is the first time I've ever seen something like this and these two particular pieces were much more gnarly than the typical sections I select (the stuff that looks really holey typically goes to the chipper).
1. Can anyone identify this "bug"?
2. Is it alive, dead, dormant? What stage would this be (pupa, larva, etc)?
3. Is it okay to use this wood for firewood or should I somehow dispose of it?
4. Is it okay to continue to use wood from this particular place in the future? This is one of three terrific different pieces of property I go to to help friends with clearing wood from their forests after getting attacked by beetles. All along I was under the understanding that if the wood was standing dead so long and then also bucked longer basically all the bugs would be dead, the wood would be safe to transport, safe to store and safe to use for firewood. Now I'm wondering whether that's true? Again although I've used lots and lots of wood from this area this is the first time I've ever seen something like this and these two particular pieces were much more gnarly than the typical sections I select (the stuff that looks really holey typically goes to the chipper).