Big ID?

[Lcback]

I came out to work on stacking some wood today and found these all over my pile of hickory and silver maple rounds.
From a far I thought there was swarming yellow jackets. Didn't play with any to see if they bite.

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[CincyBurner]

Looks like painted hickory borer (Megacyllene caryae).
https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/HN-48.pdf

 

[Lcback]

Well makes sense I saw them a week after I brought my first hickory in. Do I need to worry about them in my wood pile? Do they live in dead wood

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[claydogg84]

I've got the same bugs in the Hickory in my stacks. They make a mess, but they do leave eventually.

 

[CincyBurner]

If you season your hickory long enough (2 years+) they should have long vacated the wood (completed their lifecycle) before you bring it inside.
Even so, not a big deal since they will only infest weakened, dying or recently cut wood.