I've Seen Bug Holes But Never Whole Bugs! Is This A Problem?

[turbocruiser]

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).

 

[Oregon Bigfoot]

The Douglas Fir tree I got last Saturday had a few of these critters. I've never investigated as to what they are. I've seen them from time to time, and I never worry about them. The small holes in the wood I think actually helps the seasoning process a tad bit. Most, if not all of the conifers I have seen have some bug holes.

 

[Agent]

They are probably these or a close relative :
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5343829.pdf
It's a wood borer, and unlike the dreaded pine beetle, it only feeds on dead and dying trees. So you can feel free to keep cutting at your current place.

 

[weatherguy]

I had a couple in a split I threw in my stove last week, fas as I know they gave me some btu's.
sorry dont know what they are either.

 

[Pat53]

Can't quite tell from the pic, but around here we have some kind of beetle that we call "saw beetles". They lay eggs on only dead or downed softwoods. Pine, balsam, or spruce, don't matter, they're not fussy. The larvae are ugly looking white things that have segments like a tapeworm. They are about 1-1.5" long and have a wide flat head. The body gets smaller toward the tail end . You can actually hear them "sawing" in the wood from 50' away if its quite outside. They are ugly looking things for sure.

I cut down 3 big white pines last year and had them milled. I left the slabs in a pile and last summer there were literaly hundreds of them "buzzing" away in that pile. I cut up the slabs for kindling last fall and found them all still in there. I thought that they had emerged as adults by then, but evidently they do go dormant over winter. I thought they were dead, but when it warmed up a little I could see them moving. They are definitely creepy looking little buggers. I've probably burned hundreds of them by now ...LOL

Thankfully they won't touch wood that has been sawed into boards, but if you cut a pine down, you better get it cut up quick because within a week or so they'll be tunneling all through that wood.

 

[NH_Wood]

Going to be very tough to identify the insect based on the larvae. Cheers!

 

[M1sterM]

Another good example that shows why it's a good idea to not move firewood too far away from where it originated. Here in NY, we have all kinds of nasty tree-killing bugs showing up. 99% of them are from folks going "camping" and taking firewood from home to a campground 100+ miles away (or vice versa), and most of the new origins for outbreaks are along highway rest areas and pull-offs. We're probably going to be losing an awful lot, if not nearly all of our ash trees over the next decade or so.

 

[Gasifier]

Agent, that was a good link. Thanks for the information. I have been finding these larvae and seen the adults for a few years now on the property. I have burned many of the larvae I am sure of that! I have also stomped on a lot of them as well.

M1sterm, let's hope the replacement trees can grow fast enough to keep us in a decent amount of trees. There is a lot of Ash up here. I don't think a lot of folks realize how much Ash there is. But, unfortunately it is going to become very obvious when the EAB comes through and they all start dying. I hope some of them will make it through it.

As far as the EAB goes. Have any of the areas hit really hard developed a plan to plant trees to replace the now dead Ash? Something to help speed the replacement process up?

 

[M1sterM]

Hey gasifier,

Just updated my profile after seeing your post. This is my 2nd winter up in St. Lawrence County, after moving from Ithaca. We sold our house down there with the stoves, and so aren't heating with wood currently. We're renting, and so I'm really bumming about not heating with wood, and so I check the forums every now and then to live vicariously through everyone else's wood burning experiences! But it makes me miss my stoves even more...

There may be some resistant ash trees that repopulate, but no one has really id'd any yet. I think we have a few more years before EAB really hits the state hard, and then we'll have tons of firewood to burn! For a couple years, anyway. There will be other species that help fill the gaps, but they'll likely be other introduced or invasive species that we really don't want more of, like honeysuckle or more red cedar.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

They are probably these or a close relative :
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5343829.pdf
It's a wood borer, and unlike the dreaded pine beetle, it only feeds on dead and dying trees. So you can feel free to keep cutting at your current place.

We get some that look like asian longhorns, but they're a pine eater that goes after dead stuff. Big fat larvae.

 

[Pat53]

They are probably these or a close relative :
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5343829.pdf
It's a wood borer, and unlike the dreaded pine beetle, it only feeds on dead and dying trees. So you can feel free to keep cutting at your current place.

Yup, thats the things we have here. I've seen the adults around quite often. I kill every one I see. The adults here are sometimes 3" long with the antennae.

 

[zeke]

Looks like fish bait to me!

 

[Agent]

They are probably these or a close relative :
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5343829.pdf
It's a wood borer, and unlike the dreaded pine beetle, it only feeds on dead and dying trees. So you can feel free to keep cutting at your current place.

Yup, thats the things we have here. I've seen the adults around quite often. I kill every one I see. The adults here are sometimes 3" long with the antennae.

You ain't kidding about how big they get to be! When I was in the woods cutting this summer, I thought my wife pegged me in the head with a mini pine cone, but it was one of these big guys zinging around and not flying defensively.

 

[Pat53]

They are probably these or a close relative :
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5343829.pdf
It's a wood borer, and unlike the dreaded pine beetle, it only feeds on dead and dying trees. So you can feel free to keep cutting at your current place.

Yup, thats the things we have here. I've seen the adults around quite often. I kill every one I see. The adults here are sometimes 3" long with the antennae.

You ain't kidding about how big they get to be! When I was in the woods cutting this summer, I thought my wife pegged me in the head with a mini pine cone, but it was one of these big guys zinging around and not flying defensively.

Yes, the adults are very clumsy and slow fliers. I've had them bounce off me before too. They crawl very slowly also so they are easy targets once they land. But you have to stomp on them several times before you kill 'em, tough buggers.

 

[Gasifier]

Turbocruiser,

Burn away. That wood will dry well. C/S/S and let it dry for at least six months. The longer the better. You will not hurt anything using that wood. I would not bring it into the house for long. Any pine cord wood I have gets burned as soon as I bring it in. I know there is going to be some of those bugs in it. I try to burn the standing dead stuff that is still in good condition and leave the healthy stuff.

M1sterM, I hope someone at the local, state, or federal level comes up with a plan to replant trees to make the replacement of all the ones the bugs are going to kill faster. For this and future generations, this needs to be a consideration. I know that nature will replace them, but it will be slow compared to how fast the EAB and the ALB will destroy them.