Insect or Spider (unknown species) (various) on May 3, 2017

Originally reported as Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)

Submitter does not have a specimen
EDRR Status: Local expert notified

Description of specimen

I will provide a bit of background which will help understand the situation; I've loaded several photos; unfortunately, this is postmortem. To start, early last year I came upon a female Hairy Woodpecker very intently tearing apart a tree; I got very close and then backed off. I was going to go back and either forgot or didn't get back to the area. What I remember was the dust/frass was at least knee high and she was very intent on her work. This year I took the OFPD and during the field class I brought up the situation; it was recommended I look it over as the frass can be a good sign. I finally got back to the treet today (5/3/17); I had to wade through muck and water. The tree was mostly dismembered; several about right sized holes in the remains of the tree, obvious digging into the main heart wood by the woodpecker, and several of the about right sized holes were somewhat chiseled out. The tree is an Ash; no other trees in the area had evidence of either wood pecker damage or holes where I could see. The trees are fairly tall and crowded, so upper damage would not be seen; especially since I was standing in near knee high water. There are an number of trees with crown problems and broken branches; however, this is a swamp, ephemeral, as it dries up in the summer. The trees in this particular area are mostly Ash, I didn't see any Maples, although, I know there are Big Leaf Maples in the area. I haven't had a change to get near them this year. As a note, the size of the avalanche pole in the picture to get a sense of size is approximately 5/8" wide.

Commentary

Thanks James. Good eye. I have contacted you offline to discuss. You have found signs of a woodborer, most likely belonging to the beetle family, Cerambycidae. These are not tree-killing species for the most part, but are decomposers, moving in after trees are dead or dying.
I look forward to following up with you. Wyatt

Wyatt Williams
July 14, 2017, 3:49 a.m.