Possible Light at the End of the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer Tunnel?

Dr. Akif Eskalen pointing to  PSHB attacking a tree at the Arboretum.  

The two different unknown species of Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (s),  that until now have had free reign tunneling into and destroying such California native trees as Sycamore, Box Elder and Red Willow, may be seeing leaner days ahead now that a new parasitic wasp that appears to attack them and keep their numbers under control has been discovered. You can read more about it here.
In the meantime (it can take up to two years for the parasite to be tested, bred and released) if you have a Sycamore tree that you want to save from the beetle then spraying a contact insecticide mixed with a bark penetrant every 6-8 weeks on the bark of the trunk and larger branches may be the only way to save it. The treatment (which should be done by professionals with a bucket truck), is expensive, but I've seen it keep the infestation levels down on trees that, if lost, could drop the price of the properties containing them by 10's of thousands of dollars.

Inexpensive 3D Trap Aids in the Detection of PSHB

There is finally some good news coming out of efforts to control the Polyhphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB). With over 200 common landscape and native trees being attacked by this pest, and over 36 host trees it can breed in, the term 'apocalyptic' is hardly an exagerated one for this pest. Up until the last 6 months things were looking kind of grim, with only regular trunk spraying of contact insecticides being an effective control. Because of the huge list of hosts and trees under attack and non-hetrogenous nature of the ornamental trees (good scientific experiments require multiple samples of uniform subjects, something hard to find with the mature trees the beetle attacks), progress in controlling the beetle has been slow. However the use of 3D printing has allowed custom traps specific for this beetle to manufactured en mass for deployment in the field. These custom traps will allow researchers to better determine the effectiveness of prospective treatments in the field. Also, at least one parasite specific for PSHB may have been discovered in Taiwan. Stay tuned!