Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

A polyphagous shot hole borer, smaller than a sesame seed, center, exposed by researcher Akif Eskalen at the Huntington Botanical gardens in Pasadena, Calif. The beetle bores into trees and spreads a fungus that attacks the vascular tissue of the tree and disrupts water and nutrient flow.

Bob Chamberlin/Los Angeles Times / MCT

A polyphagous shot hole borer, smaller than a sesame seed, center, exposed by researcher Akif Eskalen at the Huntington Botanical gardens in Pasadena, Calif. The beetle bores into trees and spreads a fungus that attacks the vascular tissue of the tree and disrupts water and nutrient flow.