CLOSED: Help!!!

I posted this in the Identify the Bug forum..but no response yet.so gonna try here!

My husband was trimming some dead limbs for a neighbor friend and came across these "balls" on her Live Oak Trees..on every single tree he came upon either a few or a lot. He broke one open..Well, see the next several pictures and if anyone can, please tell me what this is!! Is it harmful? I figure it is since her trees are really looking sad. What can be done to get rid of this pest? In one pic is the larva that was inside of one..He broke open 3 or 4 altogether and the bug(s)were in them all. Thanks for your help!

Randa

p.s. If it is harmful, how fast can this spread? And should we treat our trees in advance??

2nd pic

3rd

4th

Most all the leaves look like this...

This is growing in some areas on the trees as well..Is this harmful? If so, how can it be treated..??

Here is some information on it. http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/mp-1315.html

ok..thanks..now anyone have any info on the last pic?

Escambia..great reading!.btw..love the area you live in..We were in Prattville for a couple of years when a new power plant was being built..We really loved it..Had it not been for grandbabies back here in Texas..I do believe we would have lived out the rest of our days there!

Randa

Turbo.. I would say that is a type of crust lichen. My really old oaks and a few oter trees have the same thing. it doesn't hurt the tree, but some people don't like the sight of it. Usually it is produced from trees that are under stress.

here, some pics for you to look at so you can look for your specific type.

http://www.fs.fed.us/na/durham/coopforest/stewardship/text/redoak_lichens.shtml

As far as your leaves go. Not too sure about the shot hole parts. There are some insects that can create that, but alot of the other black spot is just normal process for winter. The individual cells of the leaf tissue are dying oen by one instead of the whole leaf going at once. Nothign to worry about in my opinion, but if yoru really concerned take some of your leaves to your local agricultural center. They will send it off to a lab for you.

Star..thanks so much for the info..and time..The oaks ARE old..50 yrs on average...We have pines that are 40+ yrs old..I just love having all these trees. It is not often you see such wonderful shade trees down in the this part of Texas..Where we (hubby and I)grew up..in North East Texas...trees are the norm...So when we were looking for a place to "land" down here..I saw this spot..and saw lots and lots of shade trees..and I KNEW..I just KNEW..we were home, at last!!..Oh..I went to the link you provided..saw some a wee bit like what we have been coming across..Does it matter that the info was about Red Oaks..when we have Live Oaks?..and are much, MUCH( wink) further south than you? I guess you can tell I am new at all this! I really appreciate your help!
Thanks again!!
Randa

Last pic is just lichens - completely harmless epiphytes that are just using the branch as a parking space. They don't cause any damage at all. Birds often collect them for nest-building.

Resin

turbosbabe:
Those are galls on your tree. It really does not hurt the tree, just makes it look rather odd. In southern Louisiana I have them on one of my oaks and the arborist told me I could just pick them off--they are on the lower branches only.
As for that lichen on the trees, people have told me that it does not hurt anything but it certainly has made a feast on azaleas and cypresses in my yard and they are practically dead. I do not know if the lichen attached to it because they were dying but once the lichen takes over they go downhill. And, no one can tell me how to get rid of it.

Turbosbabe:
Your live oaks at 50 years old are merely going into their adolescent stage. A live oak is not considered mature until it is 100 years old when it reaches it great beauty. We have oaks in Louisiana that are 500-1200 years old as well as in the 14 states where the live oak grows.

That is why I go into orbit when I see people cutting down live oaks and saying "oh, we can plant another." It takes two generations of people to watch a live oak grow from an acorn to its full beauty. In one's lifetime we must enjoy our mature oaks and plant others for future generations.

It's actually the other way round. Normally the tree keeps the lichens under control (by shading them, so they don't get enough light to grow well), but if there is something wrong with the plant (due to another cause), then its foliage gets thin and allows more light through, so the lichen can grow better.

What's needed is to find out what the reason for the poor growth of the shrubs. Check for things like soil compaction and poor drainage, which can damage roots badly.

Resin

Thank you all for your input. As for their state..the man who owned the property passed away last Feb..He was 85..and many of these trees, he himself planted..others were already here. (got all this info per neighbor who is his daughter). The soil down here..and especially in our yard and the adjoining property, is very acidic..Anyway..I do thank you..and at least I know none of these will actually kill these beautiful old trees. My DH has been working so hard, pruning..cutting away dead limbs and suckers in her yard and ours for the last 2 days..
Now, we await our first frost..Actually, I am looking forward to it. It is just NOT normal for it to be 84 degrees at the end of November!!
Yall have a good one..
Randa