Invasive shot hole borers (ISHB) are invasive wood boring beetles that attack numerous native and non-native trees in Southern California. These beetles mechanically damage trees by boring galleries/caves into trunks and branches and carry a fungal disease called Fusarium Dieback. This fungus is “farmed” by the beetles as food and supports their reproduction.
This beetle-disease ...more ↓
Invasive shot hole borers (ISHB) are invasive wood boring beetles that attack numerous native and non-native trees in Southern California. These beetles mechanically damage trees by boring galleries/caves into trunks and branches and carry a fungal disease called Fusarium Dieback. This fungus is “farmed” by the beetles as food and supports their reproduction.
This beetle-disease complex can affect hundreds of tree species in both urban and natural areas. Trees that become infected with the fungal disease are prone to branch dieback, canopy loss, and mortality. Once infected, mortality can quickly occur within 1-5 years. Infested trees harbor beetles that can spread to neighboring trees. The rate of spread can be drastically increased by humans if infected wood gets moved out of the infected area.
Knowing where beetles have spread will assist scientists and many other conservation agencies plan for management. This project seeks to detect early infestations by documenting observations of small (ball point pen tip-sized), round entry-holes on the bar, staining, gumming, presence of frass (thin sawdust), or sugary exudates.
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UC ANR Invasive Shothole Borer (ISHB) Monitoring
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created this project on October 27, 2021
