ABtrees

There's only several 100s (1000s) of wood boring beetle to choose from ! Did you manage to take some pics that you can post to narrow it down a bit? There's a number of extremely knowledgeable people on here who may be able to ID them. As a general guide the larvae won't change logs - they will just keep munching until they pupate - that's when your problems could start ! While the larval stage can last anything from 1 year to 7+years, there's only one thing on the beetle's mind when it emerges - procreation ! A lot of adults are happy to walk to find a suitable egg laying site, but most if not all are able to fly and happy to cover several hundred metres to do so. With one female able to lay 200+ eggs, that's when infestation follows - said from bitter experience - good old Deathwatch ! After all of that doom and gloom, they're really fascinating to study (but not while they eat your house !) - have a look on the old iggly thread for some pics !

Mick, I totally agree with you. 85% of what I burn is oak, 10% hornbeam the remaining 5% 'other' (alder, cherry acaica etc) but I think it's different over here. This summer was sooooo dry. I air-dried newly cut/split (fallen over) oak down to 10% on the ends and 12-14% in the centre and these are big logs (45+cms x 10-15 cms). 8-10 weeks of 34+ degrees, stacked in the sun with good air circulation makes all the difference Pic below. I take pride in lighting the stove (Jotul 6) on a bit of newspaper and a single match - it just goes. Having a Charnwood put in in the other fireplace next week so it will be interesting to compare the two.

I've got (quite) a few ! Quality is a bit dodgy tho - all my usual excuses apply !

Might save this one for Halloween

Hi. I've done exactly the same at our place - followed the flightpath and found nothing. I followed then into the wood and then stood on the other side and there's nothing flying out ! It gets the adrenaline going a bit - you know you must be close but ...... ! Apparently they need water nearby for the nest - there's a brook in our wood. Don't know if you guys could do this but our frelon exterminator uses a paint ball gun for the inaccessible ones - don't know where he gets the balls of insecticide from though, presumably they'd be restricted/ licensed.

Been quite good this year .......

That is superb - I'm going to have to get one of my daughters to learn how to do that

Very lucky there Mick - not quite sure how you would have got out of that - if you had dropped the top and were still up the tree whilst they were down by your ropes looking for the 'culprit', you could have had an 'interesting' afternoon. I was talking to the 'frelon' man last week - a couple of useless bits of info about the Asians : they have four independent wings so can hover (unlike the European versions). They can (and do) squirt poison at you if angry and perhaps oddest of all - they don't like the heat : above 42 degrees they start dying (Euros can take up to 46 degrees apparently !). He had just taken out an Asian nest 30+ feet up about a metre across !!!

And just in case some of you have yet to see an Asian hornet - here's a pic from a few days ago of one hanging upside down whilst munching its way through one of my honey bees !!!

Stunning pictures David (as usual !) - the Meripilus is beautiful

Anyone come across this 'scale' of infestation before ? Treatments ?

OK here's a (rather large) Beastie. Terrible pic -sorry it was this or nothing - and yes that's my thumb I think I know what it is - but anyone want to hazard a guess ? As a clue : yes, it's in France but you might expect to find them here in the UK !

Planted 3 or 4 traditional apple trees on the edge of our bit of woodland (in France) and every year they get mullered by the wasps and/or hornets. Can make for a few heart stopping moments when you reach up to pick an unblemished fruit only to feel something buzzing under your fingers as you realise it's been completely hollowed out on the blind side !!!! Mature/ ancient woods provide many more potential nest sites for wasps and hornets (and now to make matters worse the Asians have joined in - as well as stealing my bees !)

Not sure if it's applicable in this case but the old bloke that taught me to shoot (mainly woodpigeon) when I was young always maintained that woodys never look down ! I have put this to the test on numerous occasions. Go and stand under a tree that you know they often fly to. If you see one flying in don't move and sure enough it will come in and land. You can look up at it and it won't fly off but as soon as you step out from under the tree it will clatter away super fast. Try it - summer or winter - it still works - so it's not that it can't see you it's just that (maybe) it doesn't recognise from above !

Do you get a lot of those round by you then ?

Along with the Bee-wing hawkmoth - I'll try to put a picture up tomorrow

I agree - sort of - first I thought they were Bark Aphids - but after a bit more digging decided they are Bark Lice (which may be the same as book lice ????). Apparently good for the trees in as much as they eat rotten and decaying matter, fungi etc. They also weave a silk web for protection - but I didn't see that. Anyone else come across them ?

On another note, and definitely under the 'beastie' heading let's see what you guys make of these critters. Don't know how common they are - anyone on here seen them before???? It was a first for me. FYI they are about 5mm body length. 20220603_123344.heic

Hi AJ Could be completely wrong (i often am !) but I think what you have here is a Median wasp nest rather than your regular wasp - they are becoming increasingly common but as wasps go fairly docile.

That first sighting is spectacular. Here's a variation though - the Lesser PE - which for me is even more beautiful. Distinguished primarily by the 2 eyespots on the top wing as well as the lower. Same butterfly in both pics by the way ! The one I would really like to see is the Poplar Admiral - absolutely stunning

Pls be careful AJS - sadly there are far too many 'do-gooders' around who just don't get the fact she would almost certainly be dead by now if you hadn't helped. Below are a few snaps of ours from last year - her first ever flight, first 'kill' and then sat up in the hazel whist she got her bearings, then away. we had fed her on 'local produce' only for 4 weeks - mice/voles, a sparrow, beetles, grasshoppers and other assorted delicacies - just so she new what to look for ! and never directly from our hand - through the bars or just put in the bottom of the cage.

Kept me busy for a day or two !

Hard as nails. Planks don't warp too badly. But watch out for the beetle once it's cut - imho second only to Alder as a woodworm magnet ! Excellent firewood though !!!!

And here's another candidate 100 yds further along. But someone help me out here (please), why is the tree on the left inundated and the right hand one (60m away) almost ivy free. The have undisputedly provided what must be almost identical conditions for ivy growth - one smothered the other unaffected - any thoughts ?

Well sadly here's an old one gone from last night - I would say definitely 'sail area' was a factor - but only a factor not the only cause of the tree (root) failing. JC, I do agree that there's more of it (but in my opinion it's still just the 'pain in the arse' ivy it's always been). I think maybe we just had a few good (ivy friendly) growth years (you call it climate change - if you must) where we had a succession of mild winters, wet springs and warm but not super hot summers. For my part I hate the stuff - I will continue to cut / kill / remove as much of it as possible (manual only - no chemicals) but I promise you it's a losing battle. I have excessive amounts of habitat (bugs, birds and bats which I all enjoy) and no matter how hard I try (to diminish the wretched stuff), I will not make the slightest difference to the local ecology - but if you are right the loss of these older trees certainly will !