Tree Damage (1 Viewer)

[Slingshot]

Woke up one day to find these large holes in my catalpa tree. Damage was done in 1 or 2 days. A large pile of stripped wood was at the base of tree, Wood pieces were approx. 2 inches long. attached photos show soda can in one of the holes for size comparison. Holes start out as round and end up being rectangle. To my knowledge, this tree was sound and not rotted. Largest wood pecker that's local has been the pileated woodpecker.. Could this be the villain??

Correction. I noticed some decay at the bottom of tree in photo.

 

[Peter C.]

Looks like a typical set of Pileated holes to me; they're the ones that make rectangular holes, the other (local) species only make round ones.

If the woodpecker is keen enough to excavate this much wood, it probably means the tree is not long for this world anyway. This bird is going after a serious infestation of carpenter ants, which will excavate enough of the heartwood to undermine the tree eventually anyway.

Peter C.

 

[Slingshot]

Thanx, Peter C. You confirmed my thoughts. Never noticed the ants before.
Slingshot