What's causing this damage? My tree is coming apart!

Whole limbs of this persimmon are falling...it looks like little beavers have been at work! A circular cut is formed which is symmetric all the way around until the whole branch falls. I have never seen anything like it.

There are beetles that do this sort of thing, called twig-girdling beetles. Genus Oncideres is a likely suspect. I've never seen them, only the neatly cut twigs on the ground.

Holy Cow! What's the treatment?

Yeah! can I spray them?

Look at this one:

All I know is I posted a pic of some new oak leaves on a "Spring" pictures thread, and said I was wondering why there were so many twigs of tree branch tips on the ground. ViburnumValley said it looked like their doing (twig-girdling beetles). The oaks were at my job, and the branches are waaay too high to think about doing anything about them, so I have no idea about control or if it's a serious problem or not.

You might try calling your county extension office. Sorry I can't help.

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/bulletins/twiggirdler/twiggirdler.htm

Read the link above. The link belwo discusses control methods.

http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/uc/uc-018.html

This message was edited Oct 7, 2008 8:39 PM

Oh, my gosh! Thanks for the info! I have several other persimmons near that tree and I need to get busy...

Damage from adult feeding is usually minor and often goes unnoticed.

Destroying girdled branches is the most effective control measure.

Remember that the pesticides listed are probably not very tasty to humans nor wildlife.

Thanks!

Luckily burning is allowed in my area and I'm gonna burn, baby burn!

Ahhhhhh! I just love the smell of wood smoke in the crisp fall air. Sounds like a sensible measure to take.

Looks like a tiny beaver got at it. LOL.

"The twig girdler requires a full year to complete its life cycle (Figure 1). Most of this period is spent as larvae tunneling and feeding unheard and unseen in dead girdled twigs on the ground. "

So says the A.U. web site. So I got the fallen limbs outta there. They got larvae! I also pruned back from the girdled area a little though it doesn't specifically say to.

That tree gave me about 35 big persimmons last year. This year there are 2 on the tree, which I have covered with a net but a determined critter still may get them. In fact, I have 3 other asian persimmons and several native trees which are not yet bearing. I may be persimmon-less this year!

Thanks!

Hey, I just had an insight.

There are dozens of small branches falling down from my pecan...and hickory trees! They have the same damage. For years I have noticed branches dropping in the fall and assumed squirrels had done it because of the circular cut and thought it was odd. But now I see the beetles have been the reason for this cycle which has been going on for a long time.

Well, I got a lot more raking to do and not just under my little persimmon!

Wow! How large an area is this? It will be very interesting to note if there is a substantive reduction in insect activity next season. It sounds like you will have to be permanently vigilant in the future. Do any neighbors have tha same trees?

I am the only one with a pecan that I know of. There are lots and lots of mature hickories...I don't know if anyone else is affected. I don't see any other persimmons in my yard that are affected either. I will see what I can find out about the neighbors.

(One of the hickories:)

Spectacular! Hopefully, without affected neighbors, the pest problem will be manageable. I always have a double problem with Gypsy Moth and oaks. The neighbor's don't use any control measures. Which leaves me to be vigilant and spraying with Sevin annually. It's costly, not good for beneficial insects, and a pain in the neck to cover two ponds and all the bird water features. My neighbors are in serious danger of losing their oaks to neglect. I just keep on truckin'.

If my neighbors knew, they would probably be as astonished as I was to learn about a new life form. How long would it take me to find the answer to my problem if I had to collect the branches and wait till I had a day off to go to the cooperative extension agent (after first finding out where they have an office)...Here at DG I post a picture, and *Bam!* someone knows what is going on and points me to resources to learn more. (Thanks everyone!)

This site is probably the most useful site on the internet. LOL.

Amen to that!

Oh, no!

Just noticed my young pecan tree going the same route...dead limb and top...

Here is the trunk!

I just planted it about 18 months ago so that my mature pecan would have a pollinator. I think it is a goner.

Well, it's does look like everything above the insect chewing is a goner. If the sanitation measures you're doing ( scrupulously removing all branches and litter ) works as it should you may have saved the tree if it puts out new growth from below. How is the clean up going?

I picked up all the dead branches, pruned back the persimmon and check daily for new ones under all the trees (the hickories and big pecan being too big to prune). This weekend I will take a pruner to the little pecan I just posted. I did notice a pecan down the street with the same problem; I don't know how far the beetles travel but it is not a localized problem it seems.

That's unfortunate. Are the neighboring property owners folks you can mention this to? Obviously it would be helpful if everyone affected got to work. But if your neighbors are like some of mine it might be a lost cause. Anyway, I think your work will pay big dividends next year with greatly reduced or maybe no damage at all. I sure hope so.