Florida citrus growers should be on the lookout for an uncommon citrus pest following the recent freeze events that devastated crops throughout the state.
During a recent postfreeze webinar hosted by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Team, Lauren Diepenbrock, associate professor and entomologist, warned growers about the ambrosia beetle. This pest can prey on trees postfreeze.
“Ambrosia beetles are highly attracted to stressed trees. They’re not specialists on citrus. They’re just in the habitat and tend to be in our woods,” Diepenbrock said. “What you’ll see as far as the visible damage is these kind of sawdust needles extending from the side of the tree. That is where the pest has burrowed in.
“They lay eggs on the inside. What they do is cultivate a fungus in the vascular tissues of the tree. That vascular tissue can cause further damage to the tree, especially trees that are already sick from HLB (huanglongbing, commonly known as citrus greening).”…