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🇦🇺 Australia /Environment & Climate

A tiny pest has decimated WA trees, experts warn it could do the same in Qld

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Experts warn that a tiny pest, the polyphagous shot-hole borer, could devastate Queensland's trees and avocado industry.
  • The borer has already destroyed 4,800 trees in Perth, Western Australia, and poses a significant threat to Brisbane's iconic Moreton Bay fig trees.
  • The pest, native to Southeast Asia, feeds on over 500 plant species and has led to a major biosecurity response in WA, though eradication is deemed impossible.

Brisbane's beloved urban trees and Queensland's vital avocado industry face a severe threat from a minuscule pest experts are calling the "worst tree pest in the world." The polyphagous shot-hole borer, measuring just two millimeters, has already decimated 4,800 trees in Perth, Western Australia, and its potential arrival on the east coast has authorities deeply concerned.

If that happens, then we'll lose the environment that we're so used to enjoying.

— Colin FrukColin Fruk, chief executive of Greenlife Industry Queensland, expressed concern about the potential loss of Brisbane's urban trees.

Experts fear the borer could decimate Brisbane's iconic Moreton Bay fig trees, particularly those in New Farm Park, which have been identified as highly susceptible host species. "If that happens, then we'll lose the environment that we're so used to enjoying," warned Colin Fruk, chief executive of Greenlife Industry Queensland. The pest also poses a significant risk to north Queensland's $175 million avocado industry.

They're the first farmers, in a way. They need the fungus to survive, and the fungus needs the beetle. Once they lay their eggs, the larvae feed on the fungus.

— Simon LawsonAssociate Professor Simon Lawson described the beetle's symbiotic relationship with a fungus that destroys trees.

The borer, native to Southeast Asia, has spread globally and attacks more than 500 plant species. It works in conjunction with a fungus that ultimately destroys the host tree. While the pest was first detected in Western Australia in August 2021, leading to the state's largest biosecurity response, eradication efforts have been unsuccessful. Authorities are now focused on slowing its spread, with no "fool-proof" plan in place to contain it.

They fly from tree to tree, but it's actually quite a lazy beetle. It prefers to stay in the same tree … once the tree's deteriorated, then it will fly on to another tree.

— Simon LawsonEntomologist Simon Lawson explained the beetle's movement patterns.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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