Help! My boxwood trees are being nommed by mysterious entities

March 29, 2009 1:27 PM

Chewing sounds coming from my boxwood trees... are these box elder larvae? What do I do?

Last year there was a chewing sound coming from my boxwood trees in the springtime. It was only noticeable close-up, and it sounded a bit like rain falling or bubbles bursting in beer. There didn't seem to be any larvae or beetles that I could see, and the leaves did not get munched, but they did kind of curl in on themselves for the summer.

This year, same noise. Someone told me they were box elder beetles, but I can't find any. Any clues? What should I do about them?

posted by media_itoku to home & garden (5 comments total)

could also be ants....
posted by HuronBob at 1:45 PM on March 29

Are the conditions hot? Does the tree not have enough water? It could be the sounds of cavitation, which is when bubbles form in the water transport system of plants.

It doesn't seem like box elder beetles significantly damage plants, nor would they make a lot of noise...
posted by emyd at 7:29 PM on March 29

If you're not seeing boxelder beetles on the trees and maybe around the house you're unlikely to have them. They do not live inside the trees and they do not eat the wood, they eat foliage, they prefer seeds, and their favorite is boxelder seed pods, which is why they are associated with the trees. If you have boxelder beetles you will see them all over the trees in the fall, you can't mistake their red and black carapaces. In MN they overwinter in houses, they're a harmless nuisance pest in the fall and spring when they are coming in and going out, I don't know about that in your climate. And as others stated they don't really harm trees, except that they devour their potential progeny! It's probably something else. If the trees seem seriously distressed I found that it was really not very expensive to get a consult from an expert service.
posted by nanojath at 8:58 PM on March 29

Are termites a problem where you live? A serious infestation can sound like that if you listen closely.
posted by dg at 1:54 AM on March 30

Thanks all, for the excellent suggestions. Update: according to a friend, they are Boxwood Psyllid. Mystery solved!
posted by media_itoku at 3:27 PM on March 30