Insects affecting maple trees

[blissville maples]

So I've noticed in a new section of woods, and I've seen it occasionally but more so here, alot of trees that have been girdled to the point they cannot heal and some are dying. There are some round holes on the bark. I also noticed one of the trees had an odd odor to it I would describe as a musty smell.

In this same area there is a very large tree that has very few leaves on it this year, only one I saw like it thankfully.

Wondering the best way to identify the culprit. If others have noticed anything similar. And if dusting the woods or trees would help. Deffinantly something affecting a fair portion of these trees. I'll have to try a yellow Japanese beetle sticky trap and see what it shows.

Everytime I see a wound or dying tree it's hard to take!!

[johnallin]

Sounds like it might be yellow bellied sap suckers. There was a thread on here a while back...

[GeneralStark]

Sounds like it could be Maple Borer...

https://www.fs.usda.gov/naspf/sites/default/files/publications/na-gr-1_how_to_identify_and_control_the_sugar_maple_bore r.pdf

If so, it's pretty common and there's really nothing you can do about it once the damage is done beyond thinning out the most highly impacted trees that seem to be dying. Fortunately maples are good at dealing with wounds like this and can survive for a long time with resulting borer defects.

[DrTimPerkins]

Two thoughts:

1. Take some photos and post them here.
2. Call your county forester and see if they'll come take a look.

[Gord]

My guess and what a friend of mine is dealing with is woodpeckers. They make perfectly round holes and go around the tree in almost a straight line. He has one huge maple that is getting to the point where he doesn't tap it because so much sap pours out the holes, and the tree is wet during the season.
I have a similar issue at my place, but fortunately they do the same thing to my spruce trees.
See pic below. These holes are older. We have a lot of pileated woodpeckers here. They're big and loud. They try to do the same thing to my board and batten siding on my shop. I'll assume they are looking for something, and if they don't find it they just keep moving an inch or so. My spruce trees have hundreds of these holes. And you can only go out to scare them away so many times in a day.

21901

[DrTimPerkins]

Woodpecker damage is quite distinctive. We used to have a woodpecker that would peck on the siding of our house then go around and do all the neighbors too. Delimiting/Protecting his territory I guess. Wasn't real bad until he discovered our metal chimney...as soon as the sun came up...on the weekend especially. After chasing him away dozens of time (which never helped for long), I finally got up on the roof and put out some Tanglefoot https://www.tanglefoot.com/products/insect-control/tanglefoot-tangle-trap-sticky-coatings on the chimney. Heard one more peck...then no more. That stuff finally convinced him to move on. You definitely want to be wearing gloves and clothes you don't care much about when applying it.

Sugar maple borer wounds are also quite distinctive...the horizontal scar is very recognizable. https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/the-story-behind-a-sugar-maple-scar/ We have a fair amount of it in our woods at UVM PMRC. If thinning, those are typically the trees that'll come out. Affected trees will generally survive, but may be weak in the stem at that point.

[blissville maples]

Sounds like it could be Maple Borer...

https://www.fs.usda.gov/naspf/sites/default/files/publications/na-gr-1_how_to_identify_and_control_the_sugar_maple_bore r.pdf

If so, it's pretty common and there's really nothing you can do about it once the damage is done beyond thinning out the most highly impacted trees that seem to be dying. Fortunately maples are good at dealing with wounds like this and can survive for a long time with resulting borer defects.

I think this is a likely culprit, the damage is very similar. It's hard to judge sometimes as I am not always sure if what i am looking at would be found in my region. I have not considered a Forester although I do know one but see him usually only annually.

I will try and figure out how to upload a photo in the coming days once I have a picture.

I have seen that type of woodpecker damage but this actually girdles the tree pretty badly..this damage has thay horizontal girdling as well as round holes and spots with loose bark. And as dr Tim says the trees live but have weak and dying branches. Some trees I'm the 10-12" range have been girdled so bad they will likely rot and break off 10' up as some I've seen have already. I'm hoping these insects have done their damage and are gone as obviously this damage is likely a couple years old.

I'm assuming these damage trees tend to be on the stressed side and have reduced sapflow.

[DrTimPerkins]

The horizontal scar somewhere along the stem is a strong indicator that it is sugar maple borer. Given a choice, those are cull trees if you're thinning. Trees that survive will produce sap...we have several that are tapped. Just cut back a little if you can until they recover a bit.

[blissville maples]

I am thinking this is correct. I do think there may be another culprit as I see some trees without the horizontal scarring, however some round exit holes with damage to the area. I will have some photos in the next few days. I will say again that some have a foul odor, I walked by one yesterday and instantly smelled it....my trees are like my pets hate to see anything affect them negatively!!

[DrTimPerkins]

Are the exit holes round? Size? Lots of them or just 1-2 per tree? Lots of dead branches and holes in the branches too, or just holes and horizontal scars in the stem. Any oozing out of the holes? Black streaks down the bark?

Smell could be caused by a disease called "slime flux" aka "bacterial wetwood". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_flux Not really common on maple, but does happen. Smells fruity or like alcohol...basically fermentation going on inside the stem due to microbes inside the tree. That might be secondary problem to whatever caused/is causing the holes in the first place. At times of year you'd see liquid oozing from holes and a white or brown froth. This can end up leaving a black streak down the bark. Won't kill otherwise healthy trees...at least not quickly, but it can take a long time for them to recover, or they'll just live with the disease for a long time. My parents had a tree on their lawn with it....took about 30-40 yrs for it to recover.

[blissville maples]

21938

So I uploaded some pictures,21938

not sure if all of them "went thru"

So I feel there are 3 types symptoms here. One image shows a tree angled up the tree showing damage running in a line or crack from the ground all the way up, a couple round holes which up close look like a small cankers and all the branches on this side of the tree dead including the crown of the second main where it splits, no visible girdling on this tree.

Another picture, different tree same area, shows round exit holes approximately 1/2", they are approximately 2 feet apart vertically. No visible girdling although I would bet there is under the bark.

Another pic showing similar scars as first described tree however no line or cracking in bark. This is a 25-30" tree perfectly healthy, beautiful crown. I noticed this summer it had very little leaving. I did not then look to see if leaves had dropped or failed to form.

The tree that has the odor has no real visible wounding but the entire crown is dead and dying back. There are very minute cracks that likely go thru the thon bark and are rather loose and can be peeled off. So there are no black streaks or areas that seem to be oozing, I have seen those before and wondered how this could be. In my opinion some sort of bacteria has invaded the core of the tree (if possible) and caused some sort of disease.

None of the trees seem to be oozing anything. I cannot see on the branches for exit holes as they are too high.
I will say the sugar maple borer is present as other tree's have the tell tale horizontal girdling. But wonder what other insects are commonly seen in the Vermont area.

Looks like some culling and management will be needed in this area, I'm glad it's fairly isolated to an acre or so.

[blissville maples]

21940

Ok trying again this should be the first described tree

[blissville maples]

2194121942

This is tree described second.

[GeneralStark]

Based on your photos it looks to me like you might have a few things going on. The photo in post #12 looks like the possible major concern which is likely Eutypella Canker.

https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/eutypella-canker

The other photos look like wood pecker or sap sucker damage that is likely a result of the tree being stressed by the canker. Sooty mold may be involved as well.

https://extension.umn.edu/trees-and-shrubs/non-harmful-tree-conditions

My guess is that these trees are growing on a less than ideal site for sugar maple so they are more susceptible to these fungus.

Having a forester look at the woods and contemplating a long term management plan are worthy of consideration IMO. The canker can spread so it is worth removing trees infected with it. Typically, wood pecker damage is a sign of some other stress or defect with the tree so getting a handle on what is going on now could be beneficial in the long run.

It's easy to fall in to the trap of wanting as many taps as possible but removing diseased and deformed trees in the short term can be beneficial in the long term.

[DrTimPerkins]

I agree:
1. Get a forester to take a look and get a definitive diagnosis on the problems (looks like at least a couple of things). Woodpeckers aren't the cause of the problem, but are generally a symptom of something else (they're a great indicator of Emerald Ash Borer infested trees...not the problem in this case).
2. Take appropriate corrective action, including taking down and removing/burning the tree with Eutypella to prevent spread into other trees, especially since you're tapping in the area. The canker won't kill trees outright, but the spores can spread each year to other trees....especially those with recent holes (tapholes) in them.
3. Given a choice of other trees, take out the one with the slime flux. Don't need that nasty ooze in your sap.

[blissville maples]

I've wondered about the emerald ash borer. I do realize that those holes look like woodpecker in photo but they are not, when you look closely there's more damage under the bark than what it looks, woodpecker usually make a cone shaped hole in most cases, but Something entered it or exited there. Nevertheless do need to take some action for sure. I'll have to speak with the gentleman I know and see if I can get him to visit.


I will say that this is very bony shaley slatey soil and the trees do grow slow, I've considered this to be a not so great thing for the tree health and this likely shows that. I also see alot of cankers where there are areas of 2-6" trees that need thinning, and in my area in general.

So you recommend to even burn the tree? What about just cutting out the 3-4' section or canker and burning that? It seems as though I only see this on smaller trees most commonly, are older trees affected by this?

[DrTimPerkins]

So you recommend to even burn the tree? What about just cutting out the 3-4' section or canker and burning that? It seems as though I only see this on smaller trees most commonly, are older trees affected by this?

Getting somebody to take a look onsite is the best course of action. Hard to diagnose from a distance, even with photos. Best to look at the trees in the summer when the leaves are out and you can spot thin foliage, missing foliage, dead limbs as well as fruiting bodies of fungus.

if soils are shallow and shaley, could be the droughts from the past two summers are having an effect. We can see slow growth for a few yrs and somewhat higher mortality in areas like that. If soil nutrition is low, perhaps a little bit of dolomitic lime would help, but depends upon the soil/rock type in your area. Thinning (slowly) in that area to reduce competition will also help. Overall it sounds like a walk through the woods with a forester might be worth considering. You might be surprised how helpful they could be.

Yes, for some things burning is recommended. You don't want to leave the tree for fungus to go and produce spores to infect other trees.

[blissville maples]

I am in what's considered the slate capital of Vermont, theres plenty of slate in the ground. Some ridges, as this area is, have very thin soil, probably less than 2' in most places while the valleys have more soil thickness and moisture. This spot is probably more extreme than most and likely why the issues are more noticeable. They do grow slow and that's evident. I'll be curious to speak to a Forester and will look into this.
All of the information is greatly appreciated.