Researchers at North Carolina State University identified what’s been damaging the state’s blueberry farms: beetles.
They found Prionus imbricornis, a species of longhorn beetle, that lays eggs in the roots of blueberry bushes. When they hatch, the larvae consume the roots, ultimately killing the trees, according to Kenneth Geisert, a graduate research associate at N.C. State and an author of the study.
“The root will be entirely hollowed out, just because the larvae has literally eaten the root system,” he said…