“It's rarely been collected. Taxonomists know almost nothing
about it,” said U.S. Forest Service entomologist Tom Coleman,
who discovered the beetle in oaks near Pine Valley last year.
Coleman is spearheading research and education campaigns on the
insect, which has killed about 17,000 oaks in San Diego County's
backcountry. He has been working with Cal Fire and holding
community meetings in the backcountry. Coleman and others want
to know details such as when the borer lays its eggs, how long
the beetle takes to kill a tree, and whether a partly infected
oak can be saved. An adult borer is bullet-shaped and measures
three-eighths of an inch long. It has six gold spots on dark-
green forewings. The beetle destroys oaks through its mature
larvae, which are legless and white. Damaged trees lose their
leaves early, and their twigs and branches die off. The crowns
of infected coast live oaks look thin and gray, compared with
the dark green of healthier trees. Coleman has set insect traps
around Southern California