Additional funding from the New Zealand government is helping scientists fight the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle.
A new strain of the beetle is resistant to traditional control methods, and the government says it could cause $US150 million to be lost from the Pacific's coconut and palm oil industries every year.
New Zealand is contributing about $US11 million to the fight, some of which will go to science institute AgResearch.
AgResearch scientist Trevor Jackson spoke to Ben Robinson Drawbridge about the search for a new biological control agent.
Rhinoceros Beetle on trunk Borneo Danum Valley Malaysia. Photo: Juan-Carlos Muñoz / Biosphoto
