Which pest is behind it?

Which pest makes a hole in the trunk of a tree?

The bark beetle (Scolytinae) is the most common pest that causes a hole in the tree trunk. The species-rich bark beetle family includes dreaded species such as book printers, copper borers, pine bark beetles, forest gardeners and fruit tree bark beetles. The beetles are brown-black and 1 mm to 6 mm in size.

A second pest comes from the order of butterflies, which makes itself unpopular through holes in the tree trunk. It is the family of wood drill (Cossidae) with known species such as willow borer (Cossus cossus) and Dissimilar Woodborer (Xyleborus dispar).

How does the pest cause the hole in the tree trunk?

Eat at mating season bark beetle and wood drill circular holes in the tree trunk. First, the borehole runs horizontally to the bark and serves as a

junk room for mating. Mating females dig vertical side tunnels for laying eggs and caring for the brood. Ravenous larvae feed through the infested tree trunk for weeks. After three to five larval stages, the young beetles or butterfly caterpillars eat up to one exit hole in the tree bark.

How harmful are holes in the tree trunk?

In the course of mating, oviposition, maturing feeding and the departure of the next generation, countless holes are formed in the tree trunk, which the wood severe damage. As so-called weak parasites, the pests primarily attack weakened trees and shrubs. The conifers and deciduous trees have nothing to counteract the infestation and die off. A bark beetle infestation can be recognized by these symptoms:

• 1-3 mm circular holes in the bark.
• sawdust pile on the tree trunk.
• Numerous drops of resin on the bark.
• Elongated mother burrows and feeding burrows branching off from them appear under the lifted bark.