Queensland Declares Statewide Biosecurity Zone After Beetle Kills 4,800 Trees in Perth

The polyphagous shot-hole borer has killed 4,800 trees in Perth since its detection in Western Australia in August 2021, Abc reported. The two-millimetre beetle, native to south-east Asia, was found by a member of the public in a suburban garden tree and later destroyed trees in Kings Park and Hyde Park.

Western Australia launched its largest biosecurity response in state history after the find but later conceded eradication was impossible and shifted to slowing the spread.

A quarantine area notice now covers the entire Perth metropolitan area and restricts movement of firewood, green waste, live plants and plant material. Queensland has declared the entire state a polyphagous shot-hole borer biosecurity zone and imposed strict regulations on high-risk materials arriving from Western Australia, Abc reported.

Biosecurity Queensland conducts regular surveillance for early detection, and Brisbane City Council has received no reports of the beetle so far.

The insect feeds on more than 500 plant species and shows very high susceptibility in Moreton Bay fig trees. A Western Australian government-funded paper published in the Journal of Biogeography in January 2026 found the beetle has not yet reached parts of Australia where it is most likely to thrive, such as Brisbane.

Greenlife Industry Queensland chief executive Colin Fruk said the borer could kill even the largest Moreton Bay figs in New Farm Park, planted at the start of World War I.

"If that happens, then we'll lose the environment that we're so used to enjoying," he said. " The pest has also spread to Spain, Israel, the USA, South Africa and parts of South America. North Queensland's avocado industry, valued at $175 million, faces risk if the beetle arrives.