Globe Willow Is Frequently Short-Lived

Q. I have a five or six year old Globe willow tree that is
dying limb by limb.  I just noticed that some limbs are covered with
some kind of beetle that are about the size of my thumb. They do fly and
are a little green in color. I did started spraying with Sevin
insecticide.  Is there something else I can do? 

If you don’t know what Globe Willow looks like

The one pictured above is ‘Navajo’ Globe Willow, popular in the Western states.

A. Globe Willow does not have a terribly long lifespan in
our climate. If you look around, you don’t see very many old trees.

Borers are quite common in willow
in our climate and cause them to have a short life span. The usual symptom of
borers in Globe willow are limb dieback, causing the tree to die further and
further each year.

Globe willow is disease
susceptible. Slime flux disease is a problem it faces and can attract insects
that feed on the sour bacterial ooze that comes from infected limbs. In short,
I think you are treating a symptom and not the problem.

I do not suspect that these beetles
are associated with the borers but, without a picture, I could be wrong. My
best suggestion is to remove it and plant a different tree if you plant one at
all.