A tiny beetle has invaded South Africa and is killing trees at a significant rate. In 2017 the polyphagous shot-hole borer, or PSHB, was discovered in Pietermaritzburg, and has since spread thousands of miles across South Africa where it has invaded several commercial crops along with the green canopy of several cities. Johannesburg, a large city in the north of the country, is expected to lose 30% of its tree canopy, and scientist say they will not be able to stop the invasion. The beetle has already invaded pecan trees in south Africa and the pecan nut industry along with other commercial crops such as macadamia, wine grapes, ect..,  at risk have contributed donations to help fight the beetle. The beetle drew international attention when it invaded avocado orchards in Israel in 2008. The invasion in South Africa is expected to be the largest invasion by land area to date. The South African government has committed 5 million Rand to the project (about $350,000 US), however most of the funding has come from the commercial crops that are being threatened.

The full story can be found here at: https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/south-africa/a-tiny-beetle-is-killing-sas-trees-and-theres-no-solution/