species associated with in South Africa, including two novel species.

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are small wood-boring insects that live in an obligate symbiosis with fungi, which serve as their primary food source. Beetles residing in the genus have evolved a unique association with a clade of that falls within the aptly named Ambrosia Clade (AFC). The discovery of the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer, , in South Africa, has heightened awareness of ambrosia beetles and their symbionts in the country.

A diverse range of species from botanical gardens in South Africa, including the novel Clade 5 species, .

The genus contains many destructive and globally important plant pathogens. In the last decade, targeted sampling efforts have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of known species, as well as a better understanding of their global distribution. Routine activities undertaken in botanical gardens, combined with great numbers of local and international visitors, place botanical gardens at risk to the accidental introduction and establishment of pathogens such as spp.

A novel species of causing cankers on in South Africa.

Cankers leading to branch, stem and plant death were observed on the South African endemic () in the Cederberg Wilderness Area, South Africa, during September 2021 Conidiomatal pycnidia were found developing on the cankers, and isolations consistently yielded a species. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS), the nuclear large subunit (LSU) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit () regions showed that the fungus represented an undescribed species. Based on the multigene phylogeny and morphological characteristics, we describe the species here as .

Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees.

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries.

An Assessment of the Potential Economic Impacts of the Invasive Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in South Africa.

Studies addressing the economic impacts of invasive alien species are biased towards ex-post assessments of the costs and benefits of control options, but ex-ante assessments are also required to deal with potentially damaging invaders. The polyphagous shot hole borer Euwallacea fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a recent and potentially damaging introduction to South Africa. We assessed the potential impact of this beetle by working across economic and biological disciplines and developing a simulation model that included dynamic mutualistic relations between the beetle and its symbiotic fungus.