According to an article in The Star Online, the beetle, which found its way to Malaysia through the illegal smuggling of seedlings and date palms from Thailand, if left unchecked, could decimate all oil palm trees within 20 years.

The beetle, which excavates holes in the trunk of palm trees, eventually killing the plants, has mostly affected coconut palms in Malaysia’s northern states, but can also infest date palm tress and oil palm trees.

Department of Agriculture Plant Biosecurity Division head Faridah Aini Muhammad said the beetle first appeared in the country in 2010, but the recent rise in illegal smuggling of seedlings and date palms had worsened the problem.

Faridah said while no commercial plantations had been affected, she was concerned that the beetle would move on to oil palm trees if they do not have access to date palms, their main food source.

She said that in order to control the spread of the beetle, an insecticide, cypermethrin, would be sprayed every two weeks until the infestation was dead. Other measures include preventive spraying and pheromone traps.

Faridah warned of the risk of felling trees after the beetles had infested a tree and hollowed out the tree’s trunk, adding that her department was working with the smuggling prevention unit of the Border Control Agency to look into the matter.

“We have approached nurseries and told them to stop selling these smuggled date palms, but people must stop buying from unreliable sources, and report smuggling activities to the authorities,” she was quoted as saying.