Invasive beetle takes root at UC Irvine, about 1,000 trees being removed

UC Irvine is removing 1,000 trees on its campus because of an invasive beetle that kills them by introducing a deadly fungus to feed its larvae.

Of the 25,000 trees on UCI’s campus, about 1,000 in the campus’s academic core are infected, most of which will need to be removed. Beetles also have attacked trees near UCI, in areas such as University Hills. Other clusters have been detected in Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel and Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley.

The beetle, called the polyphagous shot hole borer, was discovered in Los Angeles County in 2003, and is suspected of killing a large number of box elder trees in Long Beach in 2011. Native to Southeast Asia, the beetle is now established in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, with a second population in San Diego County.

The full extent of the infestation at UCI became apparent only in the past few months. - Read More at ocregister

Invasive beetle takes root at UC Irvine, about 1,000 trees being removed