By RAY WYCHE
Staff Writer

A beetle about the size of the head of a match is killing red bay trees from Florida to Charleston, S. C., and may continue its northward path to the Columbus County area where bay trees abound.

Forestry and pesticide technicians are working to discover some method of controlling the beetle but thus far, no remedies have been found.

Red bay trees are plentiful in the southeastern seaboard states. They are used mainly for decorative shade trees, and provide food for birds and other wildlife with their dark blue berries in the fall months.

So far, no trace of the red bay ambrosia beetle, the cause of the problems further south, have been noted in Lake Waccamaw State Park, where red bays flourish.

“We’re keeping an eye on them,” Park Superintendent Chris Helms said of the park’s red bays. “If they start dying off, you’ll really notice it.”

Helms said a secondary problem with the beetle invasion and the loss of red bay trees is the fact that the palamedes swallowtail butterfly uses the red bay leaves for food and as a place to lay its eggs.

“On the hottest days of summer, you’ll see them (swallowtails) by the hundreds. This is the most common butterfly you see in the summer,” Helms said.

The pest control office of the N. C. Forest Service has asked foresters and state parks personnel to report any dying red bay trees.

The beetle causing all the concern was first noticed in the U. S. in 2002 at the port of Savannah, Ga., and it is believed the eggs of the pest traveled from Asia in a wooden packing crate or a pallet. Since its discovery, it has been noted near Charleston and in parts of Florida.

“They seem to be marching northward,” Helms said of the insect.

The ambrosia beetle drills a small hole in red bay trees or in some other tree of the laurel family, such as sassafras. The hole itself is not fatal to the tree but the beetle lays eggs inside the tunnel and a fungus develops on which the newly hatched beetles feed. It’s believed that this fungus causes the tree to die.

A small trail of sawdust extends from the tree where the beetle drilled its hole.

Red bays, evergreen trees with aromatic leaves, are also targets for another insect that feeds on the leaves, resulting in a small, dark gall. These galls apparently do not harm the tree.

Authorities have reported that if the beetle attacks avocado trees – kin to the red bay – in south Florida, considerable monetary damage could result.