My fucking Christmas Tree isn't going to make it to Christmas morn....

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:You have to water the thing genius.

tTy wrote:I wish I could upload video.  Needles are raining down off this thing if you even breath on it....

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Might as well just fucking embrace it man. Own it.

The Pantry wrote:

tTy wrote:I wish I could upload video.  Needles are raining down off this thing if you even breath on it....

Went out with fam to cut down a tree to bring home years ago...somewhere up I-94 before Port Huron.

Got the thing home, put in a tree stand, and did all the decorations.  About a week later noticed the carpeting under the tree had changed color in certain areas.  

Went to look at the branches one evening and sorta freaked out.  What looked like pine needles were moving in unison...would open out together and then close tighter to the branch together within a few seconds.  Only time I ever took a tree out the door before New Years.  Still not sure what the critters were.    

Travis of the Cosmos wrote:Christmas trees are a pretty weird thing anyway right? Like why are we cutting down a tree and bringing it into the house just so we can throw it out later? Pretty weird. Maybe just put some decorations on the end table and call it a day

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Travis of the Cosmos wrote:Christmas trees are a pretty weird thing anyway right? Like why are we cutting down a tree and bringing it into the house just so we can throw it out later? Pretty weird. Maybe just put some decorations on the end table and call it a day

The war on Christmas continues.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:Better get some green pipe cleaners.

The Pantry wrote:

tTy wrote:I wish I could upload video.  Needles are raining down off this thing if you even breath on it....

Went out with fam to cut down a tree to bring home years ago...somewhere up I-94 before Port Huron.

Got the thing home, put in a tree stand, and did all the decorations. About a week later noticed the carpeting under the tree had changed color in certain areas.

Went to look at the branches one evening and sorta freaked out. What looked like pine needles were moving in unison...would open out together and then close tighter to the branch together within a few seconds. Only time I ever took a tree out the door before New Years. Still not sure what the critters were.

CheesySpartan wrote:

The Pantry wrote:Went out with fam to cut down a tree to bring home years ago...somewhere up I-94 before Port Huron.

Got the thing home, put in a tree stand, and did all the decorations. About a week later noticed the carpeting under the tree had changed color in certain areas.

Went to look at the branches one evening and sorta freaked out. What looked like pine needles were moving in unison...would open out together and then close tighter to the branch together within a few seconds. Only time I ever took a tree out the door before New Years. Still not sure what the critters were.

Sawfly larvae would be my guess.

The Pantry wrote:

CheesySpartan wrote:

Sawfly larvae would be my guess.

Yeah, looked something like that. Was weird as hell. They'd take over sections of branches and the whole area would open and close together. Pretty sure they were eating the needles and were either shitting them out or remnants of the needles were falling, causing the powdery discoloration on the floor.

CheesySpartan wrote:

The Pantry wrote:Yeah, looked something like that. Was weird as hell. They'd take over sections of branches and the whole area would open and close together. Pretty sure they were eating the needles and were either shitting them out or remnants of the needles were falling, causing the powdery discoloration on the floor.

Yep. FWIW its a defense mechanism. That's exactly what they would do.

The Pantry wrote:

CheesySpartan wrote:

Yep. FWIW its a defense mechanism. That's exactly what they would do.

Thanks for solving a 15-20 year old mystery. Are you an entomologist or botanist?

Only Christmas tree I have ever experienced like it. Personally cut that tree down maybe the first week of December and remember some snow on the ground. Dormant and didn't hatch until warming up in the house?

tTy wrote:There is now a pile of needles under my tree over an inch thick....  Tree is going out the door as soon as the kids get done shredding their presents and getting them out of the way.  I'll post and after pic, prior to cleanup....