Flying bee cricket

[CG Racing]

Can someone please tell me what kind of bug this is? It started off in my nice pile of hickory, but now I'm seeing it in my other premium wood piles. Also to the pesticide pros, what is a good pesticide that a normal person can actually buy? I used to use diazinon with great results, but it is no longer for sale. Thanks.

 

[Raintree]

Looks like it's in the Longhorned Beetle family, possible Neoclytus. Spraying firewood with an insecticide is of very little benefit.

 

[PJM]

yes, looks like Neoclytus - the native red-headed ash borer. Typically a pest of stressed and dying trees including ash, hickory and oak. THese forest trees often end up as firewood, where as you observe, the larvae continue to feed before maturing and exiting the woodpile as adults.

Also agree with ineffectiveness of homeowner pesticides to control or treat. Heat treatment is best --> http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fpl_gtr200.pdf

 

[CG Racing]

Wow, not what I was hoping for. I saw these guys in a hickory tree that I removed and brought the premium wood home. The only option I have for heat treating would be to make sure I burn all the infested wood next winter in my OWB. Are there pesticides that professionals use that may kill them off? It would be worth it to me to spray my wood piles as often as needed to keep these things from spreading. And always, thanks for the wealth of knowledge.

 

[PJM]

I wouldn't worry too much about the spread. They are a native pest. Most fumigation involves Methyl Bromide done by a licensed fumigator at a USDA compliant facility. The wood loses to the bug is unlikely to be greater than the cost to treat.