A dead, broken spruce is quickly attacked by insects. Female ribbed pine borers and the little spruce bark beetle lay their eggs beneath the bark. The larvae eat their way through the bark.
The bark beetles' larvae paths give rise to beautiful patterns. There are also predators here – the red-bellied clerid is hunting for the bark beetle.
The bark begins to fall off, but the wood remains hard. Various fungi attack the dead tree. The fungi's hyphae enters the wood, decomposes it and utilizes its nutrients and energy. The fungi's fruit bodies grow on the log. Brown rot fungi and pitted sap rot are typical.
Many new insects appear, such as the bark flat-bug. It operates beneath loose bark, where it lives on the fungi's hyphae.