If you are referring to the Palo Verde Borer Beetle the answer is no. These beetle larvae live inside the roots until they mature and then they emerge as adult beetles. (They are big and ugly). These larvae are called grubs and are a cream color generally with a brown headcap. They curl into a 'c' shape when disturbed. Caterpillars are the larvae of butterflies and would not be eating your tree. Because your tree has been in the ground nearly a year you should only need to water deeply once every two to three weeks during the coming summer and less often next fall and winter. Applying about 70 - 90 gallons each time is ideal for a tree the size of yours. If your watering is correct and you haven't applied any herbicides (weed killers like Weed B Gone which contains 2-4-D) in the area, then there is a chance your tree may be planted too deeply. The zone where trunk tissue turns into root tissue (root flare or crown) is designed to remain exposed to air. When plants are installed too deeply soil if often added to make the container area level with the surrounding soil. This reduces the oxygen exchange to the trunk tissues causing suffocation. It is easy to check - just gently remove gravel or soil away from the trunk until you see roots. I have seen trees planted as much as 8" - 12" below grade. If this is the case the roots should remain just below the soil level, but leave about a 6 inch zone around the trunk so air can circulate. Recovery may take a while. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Palo Verde Borer

Sorry about the damage to your son's tree. Not fun. I have to say, I am not a big fan of 'Desert Museum' palo verde trees. I know they are the "in" and trendy tree right now and are being planted everywhere, in commercial settings especially, but I think they are awfully lanky and gangly and subject to a lot of wind damage. They're popular because they grow very quickly, and low litter and generally thornless, but that quick growth makes their branches shoot up and look boring and weak (to me). I know, I know, a ton of people have them and love them, and I think the best ones are ones that get regular pruning and not too much water. I'm not saying I'd never try one if I ever moved to a new garden, but I would expect to have to prune it a lot to keep it looking nice and to keep it from getting storm damage and honestly, I just don't think a lot of plant sellers are telling people that part. Your son can prune his to try to create a shape he likes and that's a decent approach. I've seen some very nice ones around town, but again, they're getting regular pruning to thin them out and to make interesting branches. If he replaces it, I'd suggest getting a non-hybrid native Palo Verde if possible. In any case, he can defitely give it a good haircut and see how it progresses. Thinning out and removing a lot of the thin branches will help its appearance for sure. Good luck to him. Let's see what our other members say too. Take care, Grant

Roselee, Thanks for the goldenball photos and comments. Don't know if that seepage is normal, but have suspected there may be issues as they get older besides breakage because the young trees look so nice, but we don't see many of them around. Our dwarf peaches do that, but have been told it is normal because of the relatively large water uptake from the standard root stock on which the dwarfs are grafted. Suppose too much water could cause similar thing with GLT? We get a "cleansing" wind/ice storm every 6 or 7 years, so know it's risky here anyway. Will probably try a hop tree if it eventually fails. This post was edited by bostedo on Sun, May 18, 14 at 16:46

Deep water until established. What they don't like is to be cold and wet at the same time. So here in NoCA where it is wet in winter, it can be a challenge. I plant them very high, even in large containers, and I plant them in very poor, well-draining soil. Summer water is overhead, maybe 1-2X/mo. So far, so good. I have about 10 of them. Mine only drop their leaves in autumn.