As we begin this new year, I came to the realization that my informative blog posting has been lacking. One of the mandates of LaRueTree Certified Arborists is to inform people about trees and tree health for the benefit of homes, families and communities. Healthy environments are important to healthy communities, and trees play a huge role in healthy environments.
These pictures were taken in Beaver County in early winter of 2016 on a 6-7' tall Colorado Spruce.
This young Colorado Blue Spruce tree is showing the telltale symptoms of Spruce Terminal Weevil. Feeding and Larval mining on and in the terminal leader of the tree does not cause mortality, but causes unsightly growth and structural defects.
If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the small entry hole where the weevil has deposited up to 100 eggs into the phloem layer of the tree. The larva will then tunnel around the terminal leader, eating the phloem tissue and girdling the terminal shoot. In layman's terms, the little grubs eat the insides of the shoot until the sap can't flow anymore.
A closer view of the leader of this little spruce tree shows the entry site of the Spruce Weevil into the phloem layer of the terminal shoot.
The damage to the phloem layer is visible in this cross section of the terminal leader after it was pruned off of the tree. Removal of the infested part of the tree is important as well as future pruning and training in order to ensure a single dominant leader.
Further info can be obtained by calling LaRueTree Certified Arborists, Inc.
And remember to look for the ISA Certifified Arborist designation when contacting a reputable tree service!