Minnesota DNR Shares Creepy Video Of Oozing Trees

I've spent a lot of time in the woods, but I've never encountered a tree that oozed this much. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shared a spooky video for Halloween which is not at all special effects.

Apparently, the DNR has a forest health team that keeps an eye on trees in Minnesota. They describe these trees as a stand of oozing, dying spruce.

The trees are under attack by Armillaria fungi and bark beetles. The trees produce a ton of resin that oozes out and acts as a defense mechanism.

Armillaria fungi attack and kill the roots of trees. The mushrooms are about 2-4 inches tall and are a creamy to brown color. They appear in autumn in wet conditions.

The DNR also shared the spooky fact that the fungus can glow in the dark.

Bark beetles are only about a 1/8 inch long. They live and feed underneath the trees bark. Usually, only trees that are stressed can be killed by bark beetles. In the video the DNR shared, these trees are all stressed and that's why they are producing massive amounts of resin.

You can recognize damage from bark beetles because of the zig-zag lines they create. Check out the video from the DNR. Seriously, you won't believe how much resin oozes out of these trees! Creepy!