PSHB Aka Shot Borer Beetle

As many of you might know there is a serious threat to the lifestyle and ecosystem of South Africa, this in the form of a 1mm beetle[PHSB] and the fungus it carries to feed on. This fungus grows in the trees once the beetle has bored its way into the centre and there the fungus spreads to eventually kill the tree. It has already started in our green suburb and will continue to destroy most of our trees unless we work to prevent that.

South Africa is not the only country facing this issue, but there is still no clear solution at present.

There is a very good presentation a resident put together with current information that is available click here for the PDF presentation. One thing which we need to make clear is that certain indigenous trees are also being affected and dying and it’s not just the softer exotic trees.

So what can be done?

Well even though we don’t have all the answers yet or a clear solution we need to know what the current infestation situation is. Some hard-working South African have helped with that by creating an app to log and track the infestation. The data gets shared and we will all benefit from the increased knowledge.

Like data showing that the flat crown indigenous tree seems to be used as a reproductive host for the beetle?

Once we have a view of the infection status we will be in a position to implement a strategy.

Android- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.incidentdesk.treesurvey

Apple –https://apps.apple.com/za/app/tree-survey/id1415733867.

You can make a difference.

More information