The Forestry Forum

Jmoore and I have a few good sized live oak logs to slab.  Last week I noticed a lot of fine sawdust on the bark.  After chopping some of the bark off with an axe, I noticed the larva, which was a small white grub and the beetle.  My eyes are not good enough to see the "horns" on their butt but they did make a black hole when they bored into the log.  Are these ambrosia beetles?  If so, will they channel all the way into the log or just the outer few inches?

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Thanks,
Caveman

That is what they are for sure.  I have seen them go deep in white oak.  They love all oaks. 

Thanks for the confirmation.  I have seen them in pines and in some pine lumber that we have sawn.  If nothing else, maybe this will serve as a good i.d. example of the dust, beetle, larvae and the bore hole.  The conditions must have gotten just right in the last week or two in these logs.  They have been unmolested for months and then all of a sudden the little nippers assaulted them. 
Caveman 

It is that time of the year when they are flying.  The black hole is a dead giveaway.