The New Zealand Pinhole Borer (Platypus apicalis) By Olivia Mills

The New Zealand Pinhole Borer (Platypus apicalis) They are pests of beech and some other trees. They live in wood, boring deep into living and dead trees. Apart from destroying the wood they also allow fungus to grow. Although the species are native to New Zealand, they can still cause localised problems to trees when populations reach epidemic levels. The body of a Pinhole Borer.

The New Zealand Pinhole Borer (Platypus apicalis) They infect the wood with spores they carry in specialised cavities. The ability of the adult borer to contaminate larvae by transfer of fungus spore was tested and found to occur in the laboratory. Adults are slender, brown, shining beetles, 5.5 mm long, with long yellow hairs. The borer larvae feeds on fungus growing on the inside holes of the wood, not like their parents. A Pinhole Borer

The New Zealand Pinhole Borer (Platypus apicalis) Pinhole borers are first attracted to chemicals given off by unhealthy trees. If the tree is found to be suitable, the first arrivals give off a special chemical triggering a mass attack. Usually at this point, the tree’s natural defences fail, giving up to a combination of wood boring and fungi. The next borers enter via the tunnels the first beetles have created in the wood. A Borer has created a tunnel. A Borer