Eucalyptus Snout Beetle:
Scientists have found a natural remedy to protect eucalyptus forest plantations from a pest, eucalyptus snout beetle, which is known to cause serious damage to eucalypts.
- Eucalyptus Snout Beetle is a leaf-feeding beetle that is a major defoliator of eucalypts.
- It is also known as eucalyptus weevil.
- The pest is indigenous to Australia but occurs in many countries throughout the world where eucalypts are grown.
- The beetle feeds on leaves, buds and shoots, resulting in stunted growth and deflation and causing heavy losses.
- It can cause damage over vast areas as it has a great flight capability and gets transferred with transport of forest products.
- The pest is mainly controlled with the help of micro-waspsAnaphes spp an expensive solution.
- This led a team of scientists to look for naturally occurring pathogenic fungi to tackle the problem.
