The eucalyptus snout beetle 鈥� a species named for its habit of defoliating the flowering plant 鈥� has been officially identified in Ecuador for the first time. The discovery suggests that the insect is in the process of spreading across South America, which might threaten the continent鈥檚 eucalyptus population 鈥� an important economic resource.
The beetle (Gonipterus scutellatus) is native to eastern Australia and Tasmania. But since the 19th century, it has spread elsewhere, including to New Zealand and Europe, hitching rides on cargo ships.
On several occasions between 1925 and 2016, the beetle was also accidentally introduced to eastern South America. In 2019, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, heard from a colleague that he had spotted one in their city of Quito, Ecuador. Crespo-P茅rez soon spied one herself while strolling with her husband in the local park. Just a couple of months later, she found another in her apartment. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when we started thinking that we should report it, because it鈥檚 going to be a problem,鈥� she says.
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In Ecuador, eucalyptus trees were introduced in the 19th century. They are grown for firewood and the timber industry, as well as reforestation and erosion-control programmes.
鈥淸The beetle] might be a real problem, because in other places where it has invaded, ,鈥� says Crespo-P茅rez.
鈥淚t might be very bad news. But we still know very little. We really cannot predict the severity of the problem from what we know right now,鈥� Crespo-P茅rez says.
After bringing some beetles back to the lab to run genetics tests, her team examined data on its environmental preferences to predict where else in South America it might thrive. Based on temperature and precipitation data, the beetle may soon show up in Peru and Bolivia, she says.
at the University of Vigo, Spain, who was not involved in the research but studies snout beetles in western Europe, says he 鈥減redicted years ago鈥� that G. scutellatus would arrive in Ecuador.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really resistant. It is able to starve for a lot of weeks and arrive at another place, start to eat, and reproduce,鈥� says Cordero Rivera. 鈥淚t will be spreading over all the plantations of eucalyptus everywhere in the world. It鈥檚 just a question of time.鈥�
But the ecological threat that the beetle poses in Ecuador is made more complicated by the fact that the eucalyptus trees it targets are themselves an introduced species. Eucalyptus can rapidly encroach over large areas of the Ecuadorian countryside and squeeze out local plant species.
鈥淪ome might say the beetle is a good thing,鈥� says Cordero Rivera. 鈥淸Eucalyptus] is an invasive species that is attacked by a second invasive species. It鈥檚 a very curious thing.鈥�
Ecology and Evolution
