pretty wood pile

Tam-i-am · February 15, 2009, 04:29:08 PM

We do wood every weekend (mostly because we don't have the time to do it ahead of time) and yeap we burn most of our wood green. Anyway with that said this weekend's woodpile was just too pretty. Usually, it just looks like a pile of my hard work.

We took down 2 trees that were dead and really needed to come down. One as you can see was that pretty maple. The other was a red oak. Now this tree had something of interest to offer also. Take a look at these. Yes, that is a quarter next to them! Whatever they are I hope I'm not around to see them after metamorphosis. I'm not much for bugs especially big bugs.

To be sure I am not around to see the bugs, I took them to the barn. My chickens really liked them! ;D

beenthere · February 15, 2009, 05:03:23 PM

And some people say they are a delicacy... gimme the squeemies. ;D

Tom · February 15, 2009, 05:13:06 PM

probably round head borers, the Proud and intelligent gentlemanses from a nawth'n state version of the Southern pine sawyer. Look up Roundhead borers and Flathead borers

The adults are fairly large beetles with lo-o-ong Antennae.

Chickens should find them a delicacy. So should catfish. ;D

Tam-i-am · February 15, 2009, 06:27:47 PM

Tom

I went to the internet to find a picture of the beetle you mentioned. I think they may actually be the red oak borer except for the fact that I don't live in Arkansas, where they are a really big problem.

They are one nasty looking beetle with very long antennae.

Tammy

metalspinner · February 15, 2009, 07:36:19 PM

My boys love to dig through the firewood pile for those grubs. That maple really is beautiful. I can see several really nice bowl blanks in that pile.

Ironwood · February 15, 2009, 07:38:08 PM

Yes Tami, those are borers. I believe they are specie (tree specie) specific. You can hear them crunching their mandables inside the log once the morphose. If you have never seen or hear of them, the first time you hear your woodpile "crunching" it is a bit wierd. For me it was when I was 22 years old and I can remember exactly when and where. Bizzare untilI found out what they where.

Ironwood

SwampDonkey · February 15, 2009, 09:31:14 PM

Them adult bugs bite to. Hard! ;D :D

But I don't think these are borers, they look more like June bug grubs and they seem to have been hiding in the wood pile sticks that made contact with the top soil. I see some red soil stuck to the wood stick. All you need is a family of skunks to clean them buggers up. ;D

http://www.arbico-organics.com/june-bugs.html

rebocardo · February 15, 2009, 09:44:07 PM

My old dog would have called those grubs supper, like Pumba ;)

fishpharmer · February 15, 2009, 09:57:51 PM

Looks like somekind of fine sawdust around them critters. Somethings been boring.

Hopefully not me ;D ;D

Might be one of the critters on here http://barkbeetles.org/Buprestidae.cfm

SwampDonkey · February 16, 2009, 04:50:26 AM

That's no buprestidae, buprestidae are flat headed borers, look like a kernel of corn with a tail. Those are also too big and fat for any round headed borer I've seen. I don't see the sawdust. I don't even see a borer hole. Looks like the heart of a piece of oak, where they wouldn't be to begin with. I'm not convinced they are any borer, even that dark abdomen tells me something else.

Tom · February 16, 2009, 08:39:00 AM

They are Bigushi chickifeedadae, Swamp.

Chuck White · February 16, 2009, 09:36:00 AM

They used to be required to eat them on "Survivor"!

That guy on "Man vs Wild" eats them all the time!

I'd just say "no thanks"! I'd rather eat grass and weeds!

Tam-i-am · February 16, 2009, 11:42:51 AM

First they all weren't in that spot. Only the top left one was there the rest I plucked out of other pieces to save for the chickens. Yes, there was some smushy rotten wood stuff around them.

But after looking at the pics I think SwampDonkey might be right - June Bugs. The big reddish black part near the anus is unmistakable.

Either way I don't want to hear them munching and they make great bigushi chickifeedadae!

Tammy

ely · February 16, 2009, 11:48:50 AM

we call them grub worms here, and they are good for fish bait as tom mentioned.

okie · February 16, 2009, 11:58:23 AM

Quote from: ely on February 16, 2009, 11:48:50 AM
we call them grub worms here, and they are good for fish bait as tom mentioned.

Yup, definately grub worms, and Yup to the fish bait part. I too reckon they come from June bugs but am not sure. I know when I was a kid dad put a litter box in the barn on account of the cats doing their thing in the hay. I would dump the litter box out behind the barn every week or so and the next year I noticed the chickens scratching in the litter pile one day. The pile was full of grub worms. Do'nt know why they took to the litter but I put a chicken wire fence around it to protect my fishing bait supply.

sawwood · February 16, 2009, 12:54:53 PM

That pile of fire wood a wood turner would love to have a few sticks for turning. looks like some of it is ambrosia
maple and would make some nice turnings. to bad you are to far away or i would come over to pick out a few.

Sawwood

Frickman · February 16, 2009, 08:00:58 PM

I don't know what they're called, but I find them in rotten and hollow red oak all the time.

Mike_Barcaskey · February 16, 2009, 09:16:52 PM

look up the genus Prionus, a family of long horn beetles
frickman I am sure that's what the grubs are we find in the rooten trunks of trees in western penn
however I don't know where the poster is from

Frickman · February 16, 2009, 09:21:53 PM

Mike,

She's from Connecticut. She's also the world's best brownie baker. 8)

Mike_Barcaskey · February 16, 2009, 09:31:44 PM

well she's close enough to have the same beetles
as for the brownies, I haven't had the pleasure

Left Coast Chris · February 17, 2009, 12:42:07 AM

We have the large flat heads out here. After we had our house built my daughter screamed from her bedroom and there above the bed was a very large long anteni bettle that had just ate his way out of the wall through the sheet rock. He had huge pinchers in the mouth area and was scarry as heck! He just laughed at the sheet rock......

Tam-i-am · February 17, 2009, 09:12:24 AM

Yes, I found them in red oak. Yes, PA is close to CT

About the Brownies, they will be at sawlex this year.

ely · February 17, 2009, 09:18:17 AM

hey okie, what do you call june bugs? i aint saying i am correct, but in my experience most folks around here are confused when it comes to june bugs.
most say that the brown bugs that come to the yard lights at night are june bugs. i call them lite bugs because they come to the lite. not to be confused with lightening bugs that shine at nite.
what i call june bugs are the ones that are shiny green and almost look like velvet covering them. we used to catch them and tie a string to their leg and watch them fly around in circles.

SwampDonkey · February 17, 2009, 09:40:50 AM

There are many species of June bugs and May bugs, but those big fat brown cumbersome bugs that come to the window screens in June here are June bugs. They have big fat grubs in the ground that are as plentiful as earthworms and the skunks have a great time feeding on them by tearing up the lawn. Don't confuse those with black ground beetles. This place gets taken over by ground beetles in the summer that do not like lights at all. They are active at night.

okie · February 17, 2009, 10:01:02 AM

ely, I call em both June bugs :D makes it simple, there's green and brown...the brown ones been in the sun too long :D :D. I too used to tie strings to em and fly em like a kite, it was great fun when I was a kid but we might want to keep that a little quiet lest PETA finds out about it :D :D. I call them big green headed things with the clear wings that leave a their skeletons stuck all over trees locusts too. I know they aint but thats what I grew up calling them and do'nt know what they really are, some folks I know call em jar flys.