Euwallacea fornicatus
species of beetle
Euwallacea fornicatus, also known as tea shot-hole borer (TSHB) or polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB), is a species complex consisting of multiple
cryptic species of ambrosia beetles known as an invasive species in California, Israel, South Africa, and Australia. The species has also been unintentionally introduced into exotic greenhouses in several European countries.
Etymology
See Wallacea, region of Indonesian islands named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Common names of the species include tea shot-hole borer and polyphagous shot-hole borer (PSHB).
History of expansion
The tea shot-hole borer has been known to cause devastating damage to tea (Camellia sinensis) in at least ten countries, including India and Sri Lanka where it is a major economic pest.
Since 2007, specimens of E. fornicatus have been documented in Florida on avocado trees. However, it is not considered a health threat because no disease is expressed.
In 2009, specimens matching the description for E. fornicatus were introduced into Israel, where they were documented as vectors of a new fungal plant pathogen in avocado trees. In 2012, similar fungal disease was recorded in avocado trees in California (CA).
The species has also been unintentionally introduced into exotic greenhouses in several European countries.
“Euwallacea fornicatus” enters the record as species of beetle. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Euwallacea, fornicatus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Euwallacea fornicatus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Euwallacea, fornicatus and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24956064. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2007, 2009 and 2012.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Euwallacea fornicatus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.