By Umamah Bakharia 

New research shows that the infestation of a beetle carrying a fungus that is harmful to urban trees has an economic impact of R275 billion.

Academics from Stellenbosch University and the University of Pretoria collaborated on the research in the paper called ‘An assessment of the potential economic impacts of the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer or Coleoptera Curculionidae, in South Africa’, which was published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.

Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University, Prof Brian van Wilgen, explained the study in detail to Radio Islam.

The beetle was first detected in South Africa. This specific beetle feeds off fungus which causes the trees to die.

The infestation began in Johannesburg, however, the current studies show that the beetles have spread to 8/9 provinces.

“What we were interested in was to see what kind of economic damage it might have. It attracts indigenous trees and alien trees in South Africa,” says van Wyk.

He adds that if nothing is done about this, the beetles will kill around 65 million trees in the country and are at risk in the next 10 years.

“It’s the cost of removing those trees that make up the bulk of the estimated that this is going to have,” says van Wyk.

Farmers and trees planted in the city will be the most affected.