Question
sculpture
QUESTION: I was recently given a sculpture as a gift made of wood. It is about 3-4' tall and was very expensive. It was winter so I had it indoors in a bedroom that is rarely used, to store it until I can display it for the spring, summer, and fall. One day I went in there and found a very large insect. I first though it was an Asian long horned beetle, but then with more research and help from the local parks department, I identified it as a pine sawyer beetle. When I first found this insect I did not realize it had came from my carved sculpture. Later after going in the room again I looked more carefully at the sculpture and notice saw dust on the floor underneath a tiny hole in the side of the sculpture that also had saw dust in it. I looked the sculpture over thoroughly and vacuumed out all of the saw dust in all of the holes and cracks that I found. I then wrapped it in a large clear bag and sealed it, checking on it for a week or two. Nothing else seemed to happen so I left it alone for a few more weeks. I recently went in there and there is saw dust emerging from the holes again. How can I rid of these beetles so they do not eat my sculpture until there is nothing left, and also when I put this outside I do not want them to migrate to any other plants or trees around and infest them. I live in Northwest Indiana near the Illinois border, south of Chicago and the sculpture was purchased in Wisconsin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will attach a picture and have additional close ups of damage if they are needed. Thanks, Jay
ANSWER: Jay,
I think the sculpture is infested with powderpost beetles rather than pine sawyer beetles. Pine sawyers attack live or recently dead trees and make much larger emergence holes than what you describe. Powderpost beetles do what you describe and attack seasoned wood. In this case the infestation can be stopped by freezing the sculpture for several days or heating it to around 140 degrees F. Heat or cold will kill remaining larvae inside the wood. See http://www.livingwithbugs.com/powderpost_beetles.html for background and control information. Be sure to seal any unfinished wood to prevent re-infestation. Post a follow up if you have questions.
Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The beetle that was found in the room was identified by Purdue University to be the pine sawyer beetle. Not saying that they are right for sure, but it did match up with the photos I found. Could it be that the Pine Sawyer laid eggs in there and now they are just trying to get out? Also if it is the powderpost type that you said, can they damage my home? I just would like to try to remedy the problem so I can enjoy the sculpture and not be afraid of anything infesting my home or property. Thanks again, Jay
ANSWER: The beetle you found may have been a pine sawyer (I'm sure Purdue got the id right) but it did not emerge from the sculpture unless the sculpture is made from a recently felled tree. In other words, is the sculpture carved from a tree that was cut down say last fall? Plus, you describe the emergence hole as "tiny". Pine sawyers make relatively large emergence holes. In any case the hot or cold treatments will kill any remaining larvae regardless of what they are. It is unlikely that any beetles that have emerged will damage your home.
Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
close up of hole
QUESTION: Here is a close up of the two of the holes. One is dead center of the photo and the other is to the left. They are elongated and the inside diameter is about the size of a pencil or screwdriver around. Does that sound more like a pine sawyer beetles hole, and if so, if I put it outside, will they just come out in time and leave without ruining anything else. Thanks again for all your help so far. Jay
AnswerThat's closer to the size for an emergence hole from these beetles. The hole appears filled in but this may be just the lighting. This is actually good news since these beetles do not re-invest the wood from which they emerge as powderpost beetle do. This means that once the beetles finish emerging (and they may have already done so) the infestation will stop. The emerging beetles won't cause any harm since they only infest living or recently dead trees. These beetles won't do significant damage to the sculpture. At most you'll need to patch the emergence holes and re-paint the surface.
Jack DeAngelis
http://www.livingwithbugs.com
