Yowiehunters Forum

I was looking for a good spot to do some gold paning last tuesday in bushland aprox 25 to 30 klms from batlow NSW.
After leaving main fire trail i drove along a creek on an old grader track, after finding a likely spot i left the ute to check out the creek, aprox 5m from my ute i noticed a tea tree (reasonablely freshly) snaped at my chest hight, were it was snaped there was a grub hole and i noticed that somthing had carefully taken like shaveings or chips (about 5, aprox 100mm long, 15 to 20mm wide and 3 to 5mm thick which can be seen on the ground in first 2 potos) off the side to get at the grub without going so far in to damage the grub, sorta shaveing away untill just the point it reaches the grub hole and where its snaped is the top of the grub hole. I then looked around and noticed at least 7 or 8 more small trees within 15m with the same damage, i found the trees along a distinct trail running parralell along the creek, the other small trees were damaged quite a while ago though, all tree breaks were at 4 to 7 feet above the ground. I looked for prints but didn't notice anything worthy of coment.
There were a lot of larger trees damaged in the area but i believe that to be storm damage.
I took photo's with phone, i will take a propper camera if i return there, find it hard to be there without being too jumpy to enjoy myself lol.
It had me thinking a bit and looking intently at the surounding bushland, i then headed downstream about 500m and started fosicking in the creek untill dark, nothing strange happened.
No idea what caused the tree damage but found it very interesting, i have noticed similar damage years aggo about 60klms from that spot but didn't think much of it at the time, also theres a lot of orchards in the area with ripe apples at the momment.

the first photos were the fresh damage these are the olders ones within 15meters

more pis along trail

All the older tree breaks had grub holes the same as the fresh one, exactly at the break point.

When you say "shaved" do you with an implement of some kind or teeth and claw???

Hi Ringmaster , I have seen fishamen do this to the some size trees to get the borra grubs. The grubs are used for cod , yellowbelly and trout. Around that area is good trout lands. But It can be the big guy two?

Hey Ringmaster

Most of those just look like normal tree damage from weak points within the tree itself, and then the wind does the rest, your first post well that entirely different something has definitely been getting into that tea tree, but I don't know what?

Closer inspection would be need to make an assumption.

Thanks for sharing.

Hard to tell from the pics, but are they Acacias?

Wattles have a fairly limited lifespan and very quickly succumb to borers etc after they're dead. Sometimes just an entirely dead section will get bugged-off in a little wind, leaving the rest of the tree intact. People do harvest the grubs for bait, and sometimes just for snacks

On the other hand, if you did want to snap a wattle (or similar) as a sign to others, you may just pick the ones that are a lot easier to break, too.

Borer tunnels usually (not always...other factors) cluster on the shady side of the trunk,which is often the direction severe winds come from too - stress meets a natural weak spot. Tunneled timber obviously does not have the same kind of flex it used to, so down they come.