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| | The twig girdler and her damage on pecan. |
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I have been receiving calls from the tri-parish area about pecan and oak branches about a foot to two feet in length falling from the tops of the trees. After looking at several of the branches the culprit is called a “twig girdler”. This is a long-horned beetle with a grayish-brown body and long antennae. Larvae are found in the twigs and are up to one inch in length and light brown in color.
The beetle has a one year life cycle. The female deposits eggs in small scars chewed through the bark and then chews a continuous notch around the twig , girdling it. Girdled twigs die and fall to the ground where the eggs hatch. Girdled twigs look like a beaver has worked them over. Development of it’s life cycle is usually in August when the adult emerges to repeat the cycle and why you are seeing the fallen branches.
Chemical control is impractical. Fallen twigs can be gathered and disposed of in fall or spring as this will destroy the larvae inside the twigs.