bugs on ash, what is the meaning of this?

[priest]

Today I inspected a Green Ash tree (dbh 18 inches) that was covered in what I call shield bugs. I did not have my camera, but I found a picture online that looks very similar to the species I saw, known as the brown shield bug. They look more gray than brown, and they're about 3/8 inch long. The tree had hundreds of them on the main trunk, nestled in between the bark as if they were feeding on a secretion from the tree.

Red wasps and flies were also interested.

Last summer I removed a large, wind-damaged American Elm. It had a huge number of red wasps, large black and yellow wasps, and other insects feeding in the same manner. The pictures are a little fuzzy, but you can still make them out. We worked on the tree all day, and they were extremely docile (red wasps can be really aggressive).

What are they feeding on and what does this indicate about the live tree? The ash looked relatively healthy and had no major trunk decay, but certainly was not extremely vigorous. The ash trees in this area have looked pretty sorry for several years.

 

[treeseer]

Maybe those red wasps were mellowed by imbibing alcoholic slime.

 

[priest]

Mmmmmm . . . . . . imbibing alcoholic slime.

I used to go dove hunting with my dad when we lived up in NE Kansas. Marijuana grows wild in abundance there (ditchweed, they call it). The doves relish the seeds, and they fly funny after they've grazed.

 

[JimL]

i call them things stink bugs, squish one and you'll find out why.

 

[priest]

Yeah but what are they feeding on?

 

[JeffE]

Yeah but what are they feeding on?

Those wasps look like <i>Polistes carolina</i>, red paper wasps. I would guess that they were harvesting wood fiber for their nests. They chew it into a paper-like substance that they build their familiar nests with. They're less aggressive when they're out and about (away from the nest).

That does look like a stink bug, family Pentatomidae. That's an excellent pic of one ovipositing, did you take that? Some species in this family are predatory on other insects, and some are plant-suckers. They're often observed feeding in groups as young'uns and sometimes as adults, not sure about what yours are feeding on.