Is there an indigenous species of Shothole Borer in South Africa?

Nature Talk
1

I recently tried out for a position at a reserve in central KZN province, South Africa where the manager of the reserve made the claim that the shothole borer activity in many of the trees in the property was the doing of such a Beetle that was native to South (or Southern) Africa

This was quite the news to me, as the only Shothole borer I’ve heard of in my country is the PSHB (Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer) which is widely known as being native to Southeast Asia and is a devastating menace to the natural dendrological diversity and abundance here in sunny SA

Could someone maybe give an informed opinion on this matter to set the record straight?

Many thanks

1 Like
2

Scolytinae (often referred to as shot-hole borers) is a huge group with around 6000 described species worldwide plus many undescribed. There are plenty of native species everywhere I have been and I am sure there are in South Africa as well.

2 Likes
3

I imagined the same thing Sammy

What confused me greatly though, is that this particular gentleman seemed to allude to the notion that this ‘indigenous’ beetle infects trees at the same rate and with the same voracity as the alien one

Don’t know what to make of that…

1 Like
4

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.