In recent days, little elm twigs have been falling randomly in yards here and there. They all have a common characteristic - the ends appear to have been chewed off, kind of like a beaver chews wood in a circular ring around the trunk. Very clean cuts around the edges, with a little ragged center where it breaks off. The culprit is a moma twig girdler. Twig girdlers are beetles who complete their life cycle by laying their next generation eggs under the bark of a branch or twig, and then chew a complete circular ring of bark and wood off, on purpose! The idea is that the twig will sooner or later break off, fall to the earth and begin the process of decaying. Twig girdlers hatch into their larval form, and begin to feed on the decaying wood tissue. Of course, the question is always, what can I do about it?? The problem is, there's nothing to do other than collect up all the fall branches and twigs and either burn them or send them to the landfill. Other than that, look at it as some minor "unauthorized pruning" on your trees.
