We built a new home in Timberline Acres West subdivision in Park Township in 2019. We share a border with a small forested area behind our home in th...
Knowledgebase
Maple Beetles #776644
Asked October 28, 2021, 12:45 PM EDT
We built a new home in Timberline Acres West subdivision in Park Township in 2019. We share a border with a small forested area behind our home in the subdivision and most of the trees are Maples at least 75+ years old. I have noticed that we have serious Maple Beetle damage. Is there a concern for this spreading to younger healthier trees or is it limited to older trees with MANY Pileated Woodpecker holes? The trees are ON our property line with this property owned by ICK Properties of Jenison, MI. Can I do anything to prevent the spread of this beetle? Is it my responsibility to report this to any agency or the actual property owner of the forested (green space) area? Thank you for your advice.
Ottawa CountyMichigan
Expert Response
I am not sure which insect you are referring to as "Maple Beetle". There are many beetles that feed on or in maple trees. One possibility is the Sugar Maple Borer (Glycobius speciosus). They are native to Michigan and can cause damage to stressed or mature sugar maple trees. The damage is rarely serious and is no cause for concern unless the stand is being managed for harvest and use as lumber. You can read more about sugar maple borer in this article from MSU Extension:
Were you able to identify the beetle by the photos I included in my original email? The maple tree in the photo is weakened and bowing where the bark has a crack around the entire tree about 15' above ground level. You can clearly see the beetles in question and the holes they are making in the ground near where there are "pellets" which I can't identify. I'm not concerned about using the wood for anything. I'm concerned about losing all the sugar maple trees in a small forest of trees - mainly sugar maples. I'll attach a few more photos to see if that will help. Thank you for helping with my concern about what I believe are Sugar Maple Borers from my research. I was hoping you could decisively ID this insect.
Thank you for sending more pictures. The beetle on the pile of wood shavings is called a Bess Beetle (Family Passalidae). They do not attack healthy trees. They feed on decaying wood. If the health of the tree is declining, there must be some other explanation. Considering that the Bess Beetles are moving in, there may be cause for concern about the structural integrity of the tree's trunk. You might want to have it evaluated by a certified arborist. The Find an Arborist tool from the International Society of Arboriculture can help you find an arborist in your area.
Thank you. As I mentioned. This maple tree has MANY giant holes created by Pileated Woodpeckers and other types of woodpeckers. Several species of other birds and squirrels are using the holes as their homes.
The tree is at least 100' tall and if it falls toward our house it would cause a LOT of damage. To make matters worse the tree is on the property line of our lot and the property owner who sold the lot to our builder. I don't have any information on that entity but I'm searching. I've been concerned about the possibility of this tree exploding and falling for 3 years now. I've actually HEARD and SEEN that happen to 3 other trees in our mini-forest in that same time frame. If you're close when that happens it would be very dangerous.
