Guardamar becomes latest victim of pine beetle

THE plague of the Tomicus Destruens pine beetle continues to attack trees across the Vega Baja.

After devouring large forests in Orihuela and Redovan, it continues to cause havoc in many other localities and the insect has now advanced to the coast and struck down 200 trees in Guardamar del Segura, in an area of one of the largest pine forests of the Valencia Region.

Councillor for the Environment in Guardamar, Juan Ortiz, said 100 pines had already been cut down having been destroyed by the Tomicus and another 50 more remained infected. He said another outbreak had been detected on the slopes of the castle.

The local government has invested €130,000 to stop the plague and remove infested trees and plant new ones.

Municipalities are calling on the Generalitat Valenciana regional government to allocate more funds than the announced €300,000, to help tackle the pest and prevent the destruction of more pine trees.