Just to prove my point about the benefits of dead wood from yesterday's blog, here is a decaying tree that I came across in our woodland yesterday afternoon. The whole stem had been attacked, with piles of wood chippings on the floor underneath. Whatever is responsible was obviously after an abundant source of food within the wood - beetle larvae perhaps (Anobium punctatum holes are visible in the photo)?
So, what has caused this - look out for my thoughts on it next week....
Did anyone have any thoughts on this?
We have two opinions on the cause of this, the first being that a woodpecker has removed the wood in chips, discarding them on the floor beneath the trunk, in order to get to the beetle larvae feeding inside the trunk. An good meal if you can get it!
The second theory suggested by one of our volunteers is that the wood has simply disintegrated due to the advanced stage of decay it is in and the presence of numerous bore holes from the beetle larvae.
Any more theories? Please let us know....