What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Sugar Maple Stumper

High up in a sugar maple, we found what appeared to be two partially completed circumferential cuts, as one would make when girdling a tree. What happened here? And why do the cuts appear under the bark?

Answer

These two “cuts” show two different infestations by sugar maple borer larvae on the same tree. In their second year of growth, the larvae chew paths in the wood just under the bark, typically moving in a slightly upward direction. Although the larvae are unlikely to completely girdle a tree, they impact the tree’s health by disrupting part of its nutrient flow. After their second winter, the larvae emerge in late spring as yellow-and-black beetles.

This week’s contest winner was Robert Long