- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

The invasive beetle, goldspotted oak borer (GSOB), has been found in the mountain community of Sugarloaf near Big Bear in San Bernardino County, reported the Chino Champion. The detection causes concern for other nearby communities where oak trees are prized.
All stages of the insect - larval, pupal and adult - were found underneath bark in dying black oak trees on private property. GSOB is a native of Guatemala, southern Mexico and southeastern Arizona. It was first collected in San Diego County in 2004. To limit the pest's spread, officials ask Californians not to transport firewood from one location to...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

Two more trees in Idyllwild are infested with goldspotted oak borer, reported the Riverside Press-Enterprise yesterday. The announcement came at a community meeting over the weekend, in which Tom Scott, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Natural Resources at UC Riverside, and Kevin Turner, UC Cooperative Extension goldspotted oak borer program coordinator, joined fire and forestry officials to brief local residents about the new pest threat in the area.
Residents learned how to examine oak firewood this winter and...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert

Cal Fire, UC Cooperative Extension and other officials will be meeting with residents of Idyllwild tomorrow to enlist their help in stopping the goldspotted oak borers' tree destruction in the picturesque mountain community, reported the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
GSOB appears to have spread to Idyllwild by hitchhiking on firewood from San Diego, where it has killed some 80,000 oak trees. It has been found in only one tree in Idyllwild so far.
Tom Scott, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Environmental...