Thread: Totara New Zealand Wood

Hi Richard

Got any pictures of the wood / holes? Might help with the ID.

Otherwise, if it's nice round holes it's probably a borer of some kind. It will be long gone if the wood is dry now, nothing eats dry Totara

Cheers

Ian

Thanks for your reply
Have attached a picture

G'day, Richard.
Here in Texas we call 'em worms. In Germany, they're 'holz-borers'. They look sort of like a grub worm/Michelin Man mix, and range from tiny to the size of your little finger (supposin' it ain't been removed by accident or intent), and sometimes they're still in there, even after a finish is applied. They are larvae, and the insect they turn into is a flittin' gizmo that resembles a zebra-striped, oversize fly/wasp-shaped thing, that'll be zooming around the woodpile in the springtime... lands on the wood, and never stays still for longer than a sec.
Sit your bowl on a shelf, and inspect it after a few days to see if there's any sawdust left when you pick it up. That sawdust is really 'frass' (worm poop). I can go into my shed on a quiet night, and hear 'em chewin' on the wood. They get into mesquite and bois d' arc pretty fast.
I inject lacquer thinner into the holes before I turn it, or, once in a while, after I've slung a few of them onto my face shield, I grab a rag and give it a quick blast with lacquer thinner. That don't get 'em out of the wood, but at least they're dead.

I have discovered the holes are caused by a fungus called kaikaka ("food of the kaka" in Maori language)

Could it be the "Huhu" grub? Kai to Kaka's and Maori alike!
I know that the black cockies here will tear a tree apart to get at our equivalent grub which I think is part of the longicornus genus.