What eats beech tree?

Insects:

- Beech scale (Cryptococcus fagisuga): This scale insect feeds on the sap of beech trees, causing yellowing and premature leaf drop.

- Beech bark beetle (Cryptococcus fagisuga): This beetle bores into the bark of beech trees, creating galleries and disrupting the flow of water and nutrients.

- Beech leaf miner (Phyllonorycter faginella): This moth's larvae feed on the inside of beech leaves, creating serpentine mines.

Fungi:

- Armillaria mellea (Honey fungus): This fungus causes root rot in beech trees, leading to yellowing and wilting of the leaves and eventually tree death.

- Fomes fomentarius (Tinder fungus): This fungus causes a white rot of beech wood, leading to the formation of large, hoof-shaped fruiting bodies on the trunk.

Animals:

- Deer and rabbits: These animals browse on beech seedlings and saplings, preventing their establishment.

- Squirrels and mice: These animals eat beechnuts, reducing the number of seedlings that can grow.

- Woodpeckers: Woodpeckers sometimes drill holes in beech trees to extract insects, although this is not usually a significant problem.