On Sun, 01 Jun 2014 16:43:18 +0100
Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 1 Jun 2014 16:20:53 +0100, Davey
wrote:

On Sun, 01 Jun 2014 14:18:54 +0100
Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 1 Jun 2014 13:09:29 +0100, Davey
wrote:

I'm not a gardener by nature, whereas my wife is, but our willow
tree has what looks like a load of dried sap coming out of a spot
on the trunk about 4 feet off the ground, forming a small solid
waterfall effect, and there are several ants crawling around it.
The waterfall is about 4 inches in height.

Maybe it's an internal ant nest? If so, is it bad for the tree,
and how to treat it if it is?
Otherwise, I can't find what it is, so any help welcome.

Is there a good website to ID such problems? All that I have
looked at haven't helped.


A picture might help diagnosis. Don't post it directly here but to
a picture-hosting site such as tinypic http://www.tinypic.com/ and
then post a link here.

I doubt there's an ants' nest in there. Sounds like some sort of
canker, possibly cytospora, and the ants are just feeding on the
sap weeping from the lesion. I don't think there's a cure.


Here are links to the same pictu
https://www.dropbox.com/s/28t4o3qeaf4xcae/IMG_7735.JPG
for 2.5MB,
or:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ik568txpg...led_Willow.JPG
for 0.9MB file.

Thanks for help.


I don't know what that white patch is. It's just possible it's some
sort of insect attack. It could be a mass of woolly aphid, in which
case a good insecticide spray should deal with them, although the waxy
coat can protect them. Alternatively, just blast them away with a
strong jet from a hose and repeat as necessary. See
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=724


Hmm, could be. I'll look for a picture, that site doesn't show one.
Of course, the tree in question is as far from our hose tap as it is
possible to get, it will be a bit if a stretch to get there.
I can find plenty of pictures of the aphid, but not what it does to the
tree!

Thanks.

--
Davey.