Exotic Asian beetle threatens California avocado industry

Another invasive insect from Asia has been found in Los Angeles County, and this beetle poses a risk to the $450 million California avocado industry, said two UC Riverside researchers last week.

Akif Eskalen, professor of plant pathology, and Alex Gonzalez, a field specialist, were in La Habra Heights on Friday looking for what is known as the tea shot hole borer.

So far they've found this small bug in Hacienda Heights, Avocado Heights, Downey, La Habra, Long Beach, South Gate and Whittier.

Last week, they found it in several locations in La Habra Heights.

"The beetle bores exit holes in the trunk or in branches and these kind of beetles carry a fungus known as Fusarium dieback with them," said Eskalen.

Eventually, there is scarring on the tree, the branches shrivel up and die and so does the tree, he said.

The discovery of this beetle comes soon after 93 square miles were quarantined, centering over the 60 Freeway and Hacienda Boulevard in Hacienda Heights.

This was to fight the Asian citrus psyllid that can spread a bacterial disease with the potential to wipe out every citrus tree in California.

The tea shot hole borer was first discovered in Los Angeles County in 2003, but it wasn't until February of this year when a South Gate resident called Eskalen about a problem with her avocado tree.

When Eskalen saw the pictures, he immediately went to her house and confirmed that beetle was there.

"Then, we started getting serious," he said. "It was found in an avocado tree. That was the trigger."

The California Avocado Commission gave Eskalen's team $100,000 because of its concerns.

California has about 5,000 avocado growers, according to the California Avocado Commission.

"In two to three years, this could devastate the industry," Gonzalez said. "In Israel, it's the worst pest infestation since the 1930s."

So far, there's no answer on how to fight this bug that apparently came from parts of South Asia, including Sri Lanka, India or China, Eskalen said.

It probably came to Southern California on a pallet of wood or some other way, Eskalen said. They're not really sure.

So little is known about the tea shot hole borer that Eskalen plans to travel to South Asia to learn more about it.

The pair also are working with UC Riverside professor Richard Stouthamer of the school's Entolomology Department.

"The thing lives inside a tree in an enclosed house protected from insects or predators," Gonzalez said. "Then, it decides to fly off and colonize."

The beetle can fly up to a half-mile, they said.

It doesn't just attack avocado trees. It's been discovered in castor bean, maple, and some other trees.

Eskalen and Gonzalez now are just trying to determine the extent of the infestation.

"We go out surveying, looking at possible locations," Gonzalez said. "We find areas that aren't maintained such as ditches. "We're trying to find out how close it's getting to productionareas of avocados.

The best way to find this beetle is to look for a stain on your tree, Eskalen said. While it may look like sap, it's not.

The only solution is to take the tree out but even then you need to be careful so you don't spread the beetles to other areas, he said.

Gonzalez, who is an avocado enthusiast and lives in Whittier, even found beetles in one of his trees.

"I will have to take it out," he said.

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