My housemate was trying to remove what appeared to be a fungus at the base of a Purple Plum Tree (we should have gotten a picture first). Underneath we found these beetles, which I believe are some type of burying beetle. In addition to the beetles, the tree appears to be hollowed out to an extent.
It appears to be normal enough for this time of year. It's gotten leaves, and flower buds are forming.
I hope these pics are enough to go on; my housemate can't take a decent photo. But he planted this tree long before I met him, and he very much wants to keep it. We need to know 1) does this tree need to come down, and 2) could these beetles do any damage to my daylilies?

From what I can see of them, they look like "pleasing fungus beetles", which, according to this entomology web page, feed on fungi.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...

It doesn't sound like they would do any damage to the daylilies. I'm not sure what to say about the tree, more because of the fungus than anything. Trees often seem to survive for some time even with fungi growing on them. If the fungus comes back maybe you could post a picture of it but it may be an indication of a problem.

sooby said:
It doesn't sound like they would do any damage to the daylilies. I'm not sure what to say about the tree, more because of the fungus than anything. Trees often seem to survive for some time even with fungi growing on them. If the fungus comes back maybe you could post a picture of it but it may be an indication of a problem.

Thanks so much for answering! I got a picture of what's left of the fungus. It looked a little mushroom-y but was very large and solid.

It might be worth posting the picture to the fungi forum here on NGA, someone may know what it is:

https://garden.org/forums/view...

sooby said:It might be worth posting the picture to the fungi forum here on NGA, someone may know what it is:

https://garden.org/forums/view...

Wow, I've been here nearly two years and didn't even realize that there WAS a fungi forum! Thanks a lot!