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Does anyone know what these bugs are? They killed my tree!

last year

I had a happy and healthy gingko tree for three years. It started to bud this spring and then there was a cold snap and it stopped mid-budding. Some of the leaves were frozen in their uncurling position. I read that it might have gone dormnant because of the weather, but as time went on, I noticed that it seemed to be dying. I scrapped the bark and it wasn't green anymore. Today, I finally went to take it down and discovered small, yellow worms were eating it from the inside out! I can't figure out what they are. Does anyone know? The base of the tree was slimey and mushy where they were, and the bark slid right off of the tree. There are other plants growing around the tree that seem unaffected.

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Comments (2)

Jurassic Park
last year
last modified: last year
The tree was probably dying and THEN the pests moved in. This species is not really vulnerable to pests. May have been planted too deeply.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
last year
I was trying to look at the soil line- you can't see really clearly through the weeds, and if it's been that matted and damp in there for too long and it's buried too deeply...

Those weeds trap moisture and provide cover for creatures that could have munched your tree's bark and allowed an entry for disease. That'd be my guess.
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