Title: HOW to Identify and Control Sapsucker Injury on Trees

Author: Ostry, Michael E.; Nicholls, Thomas H.

Year: 1976

Publication: St. Paul, MN: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station

Abstract: The yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), a member of the woodpecker family, is a migratory bird whose summer breeding range includes the Lakes States region. The identifying field markings of adult birds are a black crescent on the breast, pale yellow belly, white wing stripe, and a crimson crown. The male also has a crimson chin and throat, distinguishing him from the female whose chin and throat are white. Although insects make up part of its diet, the sapsucker is better known for its boring of numerous holes in the bark of live trees to obtain sap, the activity from which it derives its name. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is the only member of the woodpecker family to cause this type of injury. More than 250 species of woody plants are known to be attacked. Birch, maple, and hemlock are the preferred species in the Lakes States.