Bait or good eating?

[Bwana]

I had a row of elm trees in my shelter belt that got hit with what I believe is Dutch Elm Disease. Over a period of 3 years, it wiped out the entire row except for a single tree (fingers crossed), so they have all been cut down. This past weekend I borrowed a log splitter and due to the forecast of bad weather tomorrow I took yesterday afternoon off to start splitting logs.

One thing is for sure, the gas-powered splitter I was using DEFINITELY beats splitting logs by hand, which is the only way I've done it in the past. Anyway, I ran across something interesting inside of some of the logs. In either case, I'm not sure if they showed up because the tree was diseased or if they took up residence after the tree had been cut down. One of the critter was some over-sized ant, some of which had wings and here is the other:

6818
6819

Any ideas? Should I be saving them for fishing? ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Thumper and Hombre would probably like them with a nice merlot.

BKB

And on edit, those are bark beetles. Never used them, but I'll bet almost any grub like that would catch fish.

[Bwana]

Bark beetles? These suckers were found smack dab in the middle of the log so they must all be overachievers. :)

As for bait, I am sure they would work just fine.

I'm assuming worm turds or some related discharge but the green coloration is quite the contrast to the color of the wood or the worms. I've never seen anything like this before.

[Hombre]

North Dakota Sushi?

[Thumper]

Not to be a smart-ass, but I'd say it's probably an elm borer. Or as P-hole says, bark beetles. They start under the bark, but work their way into the central trunk area. They should be turning into adults and sprouting wings pretty close to this time of year. My guess is, they are what killed the trees in the first place.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I have a downright huge stately elm in my yard and I know it feels to lose a big one like that. Dutch Elm usually eventually gets them here but once in a while one will slip through and live a long time like this big one I have.

I'd hate to see it go. But I sure as heck don't envy antone trying to split that stuff, or burn it. As Birddog says, you could put out 50 acres of hell with a cord of elm wood.

[Bwana]

Not sure what you mean by your last statement Posthole but I can't believe how fibrous elm wood is. Instead of coming apart in nice clean pieces, they are often left with a bunch of strands as one part doesn't want to let go of the other.

[BarryBobPosthole]

The elms around here hold a LOT of water. They're dense and they don't burn worth a damn.

Maybe they're different in your neck of the woods.

BKb

[Bwana]

Based on the 5.5 hours I spent splitting all that stuff, I'm guessing our trees are very similar. The fact that the darn things don't want to burn is why I decided to split them in the first place, hoping they dry down more.

[Captain]

Based on the 5.5 hours I spent splitting all that stuff, I'm guessing our trees are very similar. The fact that the darn things don't want to burn is why I decided to split them in the first place, hoping they dry down more.

With that many bore beetles you might want to burn it quick. If you don't I guess you could sell saw dust! :D

[Thumper]

With that many bore beetles you might want to burn it quick. If you don't I guess you could sell saw dust! :D

OR ... they'll just migrate over to the ONE tree that's still alive.