Question
Found in White Oak
Hello Jim, Could you tell me what these large cutworm-looking things are? I found about 70 of them in a white oak log I was splitting for firewood.
AnswerThis is an insect called a white grub.
White grubs are the larvae of Scarab beetles. There are more than 20 species of these beetles whose grubs might be found damaging plants in Georgia. The adults are fairly heavy-bodied insects; most with long, spindly legs. They range in color from light, reddish-brown to shiny black and in sizefrom ?inch to over 1" in length. The grubs are white with a brown head and legs and with a darker area at the tip of the abdomen. They curl up in a C-shape when disturbed. Fully grown grubs of larger species are 1" or more in length.
They are part of natures way of decomposing dead wood and cause no problem to living trees.
