DPIRD technical area coordinator Jenny Crisp advises that: ‘’EHB is mainly found in dead pine trees, dead parts of living trees and pine logs and other debris’’. EHB also affects untreated pinewood manufactured products. Look for evidence of tunnelling, larvae and exit holes in pinewood. Now is a good time to clean up any dead pine and burn it. If left uncontrolled there is the potential for structural damage to homes and the restriction of pine products for interstate trade, affecting primary producers in the pine industry.

​

Signs of EHB included small oval-shaped holes, which are three to five millimetres, running with the grain of the wood. The adult beetles are brownish-black, eight to 25mm long, with antennae half as long as their body and can be found resting on surfaces.
 

The larvae are a creamy colour, with a rippled body and enlarged head, which can be found inside pinewood tunnels or galleries.

 

For more information see the DPIRD media release.