Eucalyptus Snout Beetle

11.01.2024

Eucalyptus Snout Beetle , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

   Why in the news?

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.

About Eucalyptus Snout Beetle:

• It 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.

New research

• The scientists collected the fungi from naturally infected beetles, the pathogen can better adapt to the environmental conditions, making it efficient to control beetles in forest populations.
• The findings of the study showed that Beauveria bassiana was highly effective both by contact and ingestion, with a mortality rate of 100 per cent.
• The fungi could be used to develop a bio-pesticide for sustainable forestry using integrated pest management.
• The fungi could also be used in other countries where the insect is causing severe damage.

                                                                  Source: Down to earth