A Technical Report from The Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories
Black twig borer (Xylosandrus compactus) is a species of ambrosia beetle that can attack and infest both healthy and stressed woody plants. Like all ambrosia beetles, the black twig borer has a symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationship with the fungus it carries. In new hosts, the black twig borer introduces and colonizes the fungus as a food source for adults and larvae. This species is native to Southeast Asia but was introduced to Florida in the 1940s and has since spread over much of the southeastern United States.