Aegomorphus morrisi

Hosts: Tupelo. Has been found in water tupelo and blackgum (Craighead 1923, Lugger 1884). Yellow-poplar has been mentioned as a host, but this report seems questionable (Beutenmuller 1896)

Injury and Damage: Small to large areas of loosened bark, sometimes with coarse frass protruding from bark openings provide good evidence of infestation. Removing the bark reveals a large irregular cavity 5 to 8 cm in diameter packed with fibrous frass. Splitting an infested stem reveals the entrance and cavity under the bark, gallery, and exit. Bark scars resulting from previously healed attacks consist of rather large patchy scars with small round scars directly above. Attacks have been found on saplings from about 5 to 12 cm in diameter and at heights from slightly above ground to about 1.8 m. Populations are small and widely scattered; thus, overall damage has been minor.

Range: Reported only from a few widely scattered areas in eastern North America including South Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Canada (Blatchley 1910, Craighead 1923). More recently, it has been observed in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, loessal bluffs of Mississippi, and river bottomlands of Florida.

- James D Solomon: (1995) Guide to Insect Borers in North American Broadleaf Trees and Shrubs^©