The bright red drupes, which are high in fat, ripen in fall. They are eaten by more than 75 species of birds, including many migrating birds. Chipmunks, foxes, skunks, rabbits, deer, beaver, black bears, and squirrels also eat dogwood fruits. Dogwood trees are a host plant for Azure butterflies.

What animal is eating my dogwood?

Dogwood sawflies can create significant defoliation, largely because they feed in groups. It is typical for a dozen or more larvae to collectively munch on the same leaf. Despite this gregarious behavior, they often go undetected because they do most of their feeding on the undersides of dogwood leaves.

What is eating the bark of my dogwood tree?

Dogwood bark peeling off may be the result of tiny insects that do more harm than good. The dogwood twig borer is a nasty pest that gets into the vascular tissue of the tree and undermines the tissue. It lives in the tree’s tissue and causes bark upheaval in infested locations.